Movie night
by BIFF1
Summary: When Suki is being watched too closely by Headmaster she decides to go to the movie night rather than help the others with escape plans. While watching the movie she ends up spending more time than she intended with Ray
1. Dr No

Movie night

Suki sat at the back of the room on an uncomfortable chair by herself waiting for the movie to start. She wasn't sure what the movie was she was just sure that she was being watched by the headmaster, which meant that in order to keep what Ian and the rest were working on safe she had to be as far from it as possible. Thus the movie.

She looked around the room bored, she hadn't been alone at a social event since before tower prep and the absence of Gabe's smart ass comments and whining was throwing her off. A monitor rolled down the screen at the front of the room and another at the back dimmed the lights. She hoped that the movie would be good and that it would distract her from the fact that she was sitting alone at the back of the lecture theater like a loser.

"What movie is it?" she asked herself trying to fill the silence her friends had left.

"Dr. No."

Startled by a response she turned sharply to see Ray Snyder sitting calmly in the seat beside her like he belonged there. Legs outstretched he looked far too comfortable for someone who had felt the need to acquire the seat next to her only after the lights went out.

"What are you doing Ray?" she asked in what she hoped was an authoritative voice.

"Watching Dr. No." he smiled lopsidedly at her and offered her his popcorn, "popcorn?"

"You know that's not what I meant right?" she quirked an eyebrow and studied his face before she took some popcorn. Ray wasn't her friend but he filled up the space they had left behind surprisingly well. She sat back in the chair to watch James Bond battle with whatever bad guy this movie involved, she assumed a Dr. No. She tried to focus on the film and not the fact that she was virtually alone with a boy in the dark. And not just any boy but a boy that liked her.

Twenty minutes into the movie she wanted more popcorn. She was afraid to turn and look at Ray for fear that he was looking at her, she couldn't quite make out what he was doing in the light of the movie. The craving for popcorn intensified until she finally turned to ask for the popcorn and found that he wasn't looking at her at all, he was absorbed in the movie.

She felt silly thinking that he was so in love with her that he would rather watch her than a James bond movie. She was momentarily fascinated by the way the light from the film light up his face. She watched as a smile light up his face. Curious as to what had put it there she turned back to the movie. She searched the screen to find what could have brought that smile to his face but she found nothing. She turned back to him and was startled to be looking into his dark eyes.

Had he been smiling because he had caught her looking at him? A blush flooded her face as she floundered trying to think of an excuse. All she came up with was, "Ummm I..."

Instead of laughing at her abysmal attempt to cover up her gawking at him he just smiled, that lopsided I know what's going on smile, and held out the box of popcorn, "Hungry?"

"Thank you." her whisper was almost lost in Sean Connery's voice as she took some popcorn from the boy.

Half an hour after that she was thirsty. She made a mental note to be more prepared next time she watched a movie. She shifted in the uncomfortable plastic seat and craned her next searching for where she should obtain a beverage.

"What's the matter?"

Suki turned in her seat to face him, "Where do I get a drink?"

"What do you want?"

"Just some root beer?"

"Wait here."

"What?" Suki questioned as she watched Ray get up from his seat. It didn't sink in that he was going to get her a drink until she watched him leave the room. She tried to focus on the movie while he was gone but his absence made her nervous for some reason. Had she enjoyed his company? Wasn't she supposed to be disgusted by him? She supposed that if that had been true she would have just moved to a different seat. Or at the very least she would have ignored him.

Now they had shared popcorn while watching a movie and now he was going to get her a drink. This sounded suspiciously like a date. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

_'beep' _

For a moment she thought the noise came from the movie but when it beeped again she knew it was her P.D.A. She fished it out of her pocket and turned the home screen back on; the light from the machine dazzled her eyes.

_Coast is clear_

_-Gabe_

She was in the clear to disappear into the observatory for the rest of the night, away from Ray. Something twisted in her stomach at the thought of Ray coming back to give an empty seat a root beer.

_Still being watched on this end_

_-Suki_

She looked around the room, there was no one watching. She was a liar. Had she just lied in order to stay and watch a movie with Ray? She shook her head. No that wasn't it she wanted to watch the end of the movie. That's what it was... but if that had been why wouldn't she have just said that?

"Here" Ray was back standing in front of his seat and holding out a bottle of root beer, the top twisted off already and a straw trapped in the bottle by his hand. For some reason Suki took the bottle from him at the neck. Their fingers touched and the burning feeling it left behind contrasted sharply with the coolness of the bottle.

"Thanks." she smiled at him as he took his place next to her.

Suki smiled when Ray leaned towards her, his eyes still on the screen as he told her, "Did you know that she was only paid $6000 for this role?" she laughed quietly at how outraged he seemed to be at the fact.

He leaned back into his chair but his arm stayed beside hers almost touching in such a way that it raised the hairs on the back of her neck and sent little jolts of nervousness throughout her body.

The movie ended too soon. Students started to move and shuffle in front of them. Ray and Suki looked at each other as the lights went on as if not sure what was supposed to happen now.

"I guess I should be getting back to my dorm..." Suki drank the last of the root beer and set the bottle on the table in front of her.

"Yeah that's usually what happens after this." Ray smiled and stretched before he stood up.

Suki found herself looking up at him he was wearing that half smile again. Ray held out his hand to Suki and she was amazed at how confident he was that she would take it, he maintained eye contact and his hand was still. Suki looked around first before she let him pull her to her feet.

They meandered down the stairs of the theater together, side by side. Only the monitors were left in the room by the time they reached the doors. Perhaps they had been watching her because Suki felt a chill run down her spine as they passed through the doors.

"So how did you like the movie?" Ray asked as they walked towards her dorm room.

"Who doesn't like James Bond?" Suki laughed a little to herself, looking over at Ray. He smiled laughing quietly as well.

"What are they showing next?" She asked him as she watched him walk causally past the hallway that lead to his dorm.

"Raiders I think?"

"What's that?" she slowed her pace as she saw the door to her dorm room up a head.

Ray stopped dead in the middle of the hall, "Please tell me you're joking?" he watched her reaction and knew that she wasn't, "It's the first Indiana Jones film."

"Oh," she waved it away and shrugged, "I haven't seen it."

"You - you haven't seen Raiders of the lost ark? That's crazy!" Rays amazed outrage echoed through the hallway. They stood feet from Suki's door. On the other side of that door CJ was no doubt waiting to find out if Suki was still being watched and what had happened at the movie.

"Is that a big deal?" She asked hoping that CJ wouldn't open the door and find her in friendly conversation with Ray.

"yes." he said evenly there was a sense of finality to it. "I will see you at the movie next week. Not seeing Raiders, that needs it be fixed as soon as possible."

Ray smiled and it wasn't until then that Suki realized that they were standing exceptionally close. There was maybe two rulers worth of space between them now. She thought she could feel his body heat hit her in waves as he stood there calmly. Why wasn't he nervous to be this close to me? Her mind practically screamed. He was the one who had a crush on her so why was she the one who was nervous as to what was going to happen. If this was a date like so many things indicated perhaps there would be a good night kiss. His head moved close to her and her eyes widened in what she assumed was fear. She was frozen to the spot, completely at his mercy only two feet from her dorm room.

"Night Suki." he whispered before kissing the top of her head. And with that he left, back down the hallway that led to his dorm. She stood outside her door for at least five minutes before she entered the dimly light room.

"Suki what happened your face is red?" CJ got up from her bed and walked over to Suki. She wanted to check Suki for any injuries but Suki just moved silently towards her bed a hand on the top of her head.

"Suki what happened?" CJ asked again more strongly. This time Suki looked at her and actually saw her friend.

"He kissed me." Suki sat heavily on her bed and almost in a daze started to get ready for bed.

"Who kissed you?" CJ almost screamed.

"I think were going on a date next week..."

"WHO!"

"Oh." Suki spoke again almost surprised that CJ was even there, "Ummm... Ray..." she muttered half hoping that CJ wouldn't notice or care that she had had a very tame tryst with Ray.

"Suki... were they really watching you?"

"Probably."

"You wanted to stay with Ray? I thought you didn't care for him?" CJ asked making her way back to her own bed.

"Its not so much that as he went to go get me a drink, it would have been awful if he had come back and I was gone."

CJ pulled her covers away and turned the light off leaving them both in the dark, "Suki?"

"Yes?" she answered the darkness.

"I think you might like Ray."

"That's ridiculous CJ."


	2. Raiders

A/N: Welcome to the second installment of movie night. I wasn't sure if I should just have it as a one shot but the idea lent itself so well to the idea of a serial. I hope that my spelling and grammar aren't too awful. I'm using an online spell checker. Also if anyone knows where I can find some tower prep fiction prompts or challenges that would be awesome sauce.

Movie night: Raiders

Suki stood in front of the open wardrobe looking at her clothes. The movie started in half an hour and she had no idea what to wear or why she even cared. She moved the same shirt in and out of the wardrobe before CJ made a disgruntled noise and came over to look into the den of clothes with her.

"Suki, if you don't like him why do you care what you wear? Or more importantly why are you even going?"

Suki shrugged, she was tired of having the same conversation over and over again. She didn't like Ray she was just interested in seeing the movie. It's not like she had even talked to Ray since he had walked her to her dorm.

"What are you doing tonight?" she tried to sway the conversation in a different direction. She felt something twist in her stomach every time she moved the conversation towards Ray.

"Ian and I were going to help Gabe with some student council thing." CJ smiled slightly as she mentioned Ian and Suki had never been happier to have distracted by thoughts of him.

"When are you doing that?"

CJ looked at the alarm clock and swore softly, "ten minutes ago. I have to go, "she was half way out the door before she turned to look at Suki intently.

"Stop trying to read me." Suki warned her face stern.

CJ dropped her eyes, "Have fun at the movie Suki."

And with that Suki was alone in the room looking at the clothes she had thrown on the bed nervous about what CJ had seen written on her face. Why was she going to the movie? Why was she going alone, was she really going to be with Ray? CJ would have gone with her if she had asked. She pulled a soft sweater over her t shirt and tried to pacify her insides.

She was just going to see a movie. It wasn't weird to see a movie. And if Ray just happened to sit beside her that wasn't her fault. It wasn't like she was going to sit next to him or anything.

The lecture theater was starting to fill up. Suki looked around the crowd of people talking at the front. Ray wasn't in it. Not that she had been looking for him. That would be silly. She started slowly up the stairs to the back of the room paying more attention to her shoes than anything else.

"You didn't bring anything to drink again." with the power of mimicry she could hear the subtle differences that made a voice unique but she didn't need her ability to know what that was Ray. She looked up and found him easily. Sitting at the back of the room reclined in his chair a lazy smile on his face.

"Oh!" she felt her pockets as if a drink would suddenly materialize in them.

"Don't worry I thought you might." He leaned down and picked something off the floor, "I figured root beer was a safe bet." he smiled and placed a bottle of root beer on the table in front of him.

A rush of nervousness flew through her. Her heart raced and she was sure that her checks were red in a horribly obvious way. This was too much like a date. He had not only brought her a drink but had been early and gotten one he was sure she would like. She wanted nothing more than to have been the first to arrive. If she sat next to him it wasn't just an odd coincidence anymore it was pretty much a date.

"What's the matter?" Rays voice was worried and he stood from the awkward plastic chair so quickly that it teetered precariously.

"Nothing I'm fine." she squeaked nervously. It was so much easier being around Ray in the dark. Taking a deep breath she moved to the seat next to him. She looked up and down the long row of empty chairs. If CJ found out about this she would definitely think this was a date. She couldn't really blame her even she was starting to think she might be on a date with Ray Snyder.

Several minutes went by in an awkward silence. Well more so they weren't speaking and she was awkward. Every time she looked over at him he looked absolutely cool and collected. She was jealous, wasn't he the one that was supposed to like her? Why wasn't he a goofy awkward teenage mess?

"What?" he asked eyebrow quirked that half smile firmly in place. He had caught her looking at him. She was bad at sneaking glances.

"What what?" she tried hoping that perhaps he would believe that she had no idea what he was talking about.

He laughed quietly to himself and turned in his seat to look at her properly, 'I can't believe you haven't seen this movie before." he seemed genuinely amazed by it.

God Suki wished that she had CJ's ability to look at Ray and know exactly what was going on. Hell she would have been satisfied knowing what was going on with herself. The right side of her body, the side closest to Ray felt like it was on fire and even thou she was sitting down her heart was still beating hard.

'Is this a date?' her mind screamed out but the words that left her mouth were, "I don't know I just haven't come across it before I guess."

"That's absurd." He smiled warmly as he talked to her. So far she liked this smile best. He reached behind him and grabbed something. He came back with box of popcorn, "What else haven't you seen?" he didn't even ask if she wanted any popcorn he just held the box out to her as he talked his dark eyes fixed on her.

"I don't know that's such a horrible way to ask something like that." she laughed.

"Well what do you suggest?" his mouth twisted into a sarcastic smirk as he realized she was making fun of him a little bit.

"I don't know, "She shrugged taking the root beer off the table, "ask me some questions?" she stared down at the still cool bottle trying to uncover the mystery of if she needed a bottle opener or not.

She did. She growled at the bottle before Ray took it from her hands being careful to slide his fingers along hers in as slow and teasing way as possible. Or at least it seemed that way to Suki. Is this a date? Her mind screamed again as she watched Ray twist the bottle cap off like it was nothing. She wondered momentarily if he had brought a non twist off bottle in order to show off.

"Star wars?"

"What?"

"Have you seen star wars?"

"Oh, yes. Of course." she took a sip of root beer and wondered if she would ever be as comfortable around his as he appeared to be around her.

"You don't get to say of course. Girls who haven't seen Raiders don't get to say of course."

"Well I guess it's a good thing I came then." She smiled at him as the lights went off. She took heart in the darkness. She had never realized how much she liked the dark until it hid her blushing awkward face from Ray.

Suki alternated between watching the movie and watching Ray watch the movie. Every so often Ray would catch her looking at him, smile and lean towards her to tell her something interesting about the movie like how the magnum p.i. guy was supposed to be Indiana. Every time he moved in close to tell her something she wished she would ask him if he thought this was a date.

The movie went bad too quickly yet again. The monitor turned on the switch and flooded the room with a painful blaze of light.

"Did you like it?" Ray asked as he gathered up the drinks and snacks he had brought with him.

"Of course." she smiled a little deviously as she got out of the seat.

Ray followed her down the stairs and out the door bringing with him a lilting tinkle of glass bottles bumping softly together. Suki listened to it as they walked quietly towards her dorm room.

"What's the next movie?" she asked breaking the comfortable silence and the spell of the glass bottles.

"Casablanca." he said quietly almost disappointed.

"Oh, I've seen it." Suki hated it but she was disappointed as well. There would be no humorous outrage in his voice as he pretty much demanded her presence.

"I haven't it's a chick flick."

"No its not. There are Nazis and gambling and Bogart."

"Huh. Doesn't sound so bad when you put it like that." They stopped in front of Suki's door except this time instead of being exceptionally close Ray felt too far away.

He wasn't going to kiss her? What was that about? Some crush he had on her he might as well have been standing on the opposite end of the hallway.

"Good night Suki." his voice was quieter than she ever imagined that he could be it was soft and gentle. And a little sad.

"Night Ray." she whispered in return confused at what had happened. Didn't he have a good time with her? Didn't he want to kiss her? Why didn't he want to kiss her? She looked around, the hall was empty they were alone so it couldn't have been that.

Ray turned to leave. Suki stood with one hand on the door handle and watched him retreat back to his dorm. This wasn't right.

"Ray!" she called out leaving the door to try and catch up with the raven haired boy.

He stopped but didn't turn around.

"You should really see Casablanca." she told his back her voice sounding desperate even to her own ears. He still didn't turn around, "Ray?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you want to go see Casablanca with me next week?"

"A date?"

She had never been happy to talk to someone's back before until that moment, "yes. A date." The words were nervous and soft but Suki knew that Ray would have heard that answer even if it had been in a pitch only dogs could hear.

"Pick you up at 8?"

"Only if you turn around." she wasn't CJ she couldn't tell peoples intentions just by looking at them but she had never asked anyone on a date before and she wanted to know what he looked like at this moment.

He turned and they were close again. He was smiling a full soft smile that felt only for her. She watched nervously as his hand moved towards her. She didn't know what was going to happen and energy filled her up that she couldn't explain. Her heart was pounding in her ears. His hand brushed her hair away from her face and held it to her neck.

This was it. He was going to kiss her. She closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing.

He leaned into her and placed a firm kiss on her forehead. Brushed it away with the hand that had been holding her hair back and walked away into the dim.

"I'll pick you up at 8."

CJ was waiting up for her.

"How was the movie?" she asked far too much suggestion in her voice.

"It was really good." Suki tried to hide her red face by changing for bed in the wardrobe.

"That's good. What are your plans next week?" Suki could tell by the tone in her voice that she already knew.

"Did you ease drop on me?"

"You yelled out his name what am I supposed to do?"

"Wait for me to tell you?"

"Well that's just silly. So he kissed you again?" The blood rushing to her face was enough for CJ to know exactly what happened, "How was it?" CJ leaned toward her friend hoping to have some nice juicy details about the night.

Suki put her hand on her forehead where Ray had kissed her. She still felt it, it had been sweet and kind and protective and it warmed her heart but what she said was, "How many movies do we have to see before he kisses me on the lips?"

"Awww that's so cute. Who would have thought that Ray was so old fashioned. How long until he pins you Suki?" CJ teased laughing on the other side of the room.

"Shut up."

"Ooo! Are you going to the sock hop together?" CJ laughed racking her brain for more 1950s references.

Grumbling Suki grabbed the pillow off her bed and threw it at her friends head.

_WHUMP_

The pillow hit CJ in the face momentarily smothering the girl.

"Go to sleep!"

Suki got into bed, had pulled up the covers around her before she realized she only had one pillow, "Hey can you?" the pillow flew back across the room.


	3. Casablanca

A/N: Man you guys are so lucky! A third chapter from me? That's pretty much unheard of with my fanfiction. Yep i just checked. I guess I just need a lot of reviews and to write the entire story in a day. This one took a little longer because i was distracted by the back to the future marathon and pizza.

Movie night: Casablanca

"What am I going to do?" Suki had been ready for hours, all she had left to do was pace the room heart going a mile a minute. CJ sat on her bed and watched her friend have a panic attack.

"Your going to be fine Suki."

"how do you know that?" Suki's voice reached an odd quiet height she hadn't realized that her own voice could reach. Her heart was pounding and her mind was racing. Was she really going on a date with Ray? An actual real both parties knew it was a date date?

CJ smiled in spite of the absolute horror that was written all over her friend, "Because Ray is stuck in the 50s. He might even pull your seat out for you."

"Whose going to pull out Suki's chair?" Both girls whipped their heads to look at the door. Ian and Gabe were standing in the now open doorway.

"What are you doing just walking in like that? We could have been changing!" Suki's voice rumbled with outrage hoping to distract them from what they were on the brink of discovering.

"Oh my G Suki calm down." Gabe walked into the room being careful to keep space between himself and the red faced Suki.

"Sorry Suke." Ian looked genuinely ashamed of himself for just letting himself into a girls room so Suki nodded, "What are you all dressed up for?" he asked taking in her appearance properly for the first time.

Suki looked down at herself she didn't think she had dressed up. She looked up at CJ, "Am i dressed up?" the panic in her voice was undeniable.

"No Suki you look nice."

"I don't look like i tried to hard?"

"No you look good."

"Yeah Suki you look nice." Gabe quirked an eyebrow and looked between the two girls, "Whats more important is why do you look nice?"

"I...I..." Suki floundered face flushed but before she or CJ could think of anything to say Ian turned angrily to the doorway.

"Why are you here?" His voice was sharp and pulled everyone's attention to the doorway. There leaning causally against the door frame was Ray.

Smirking he looked at his watch, "Because it's 8 o'clock." He turned his focus to Suki, "Ready?"

She nodded quickly and without looking at her friends darted out of the room.

Ray lingered in the doorway and with a self satisfied smirk at Gabe closed the door.

_"Why did Suki just leave with Ray?"_

_"Where are they going?"_

_"How long has this been happening?"_

In the hall Suki could hear the explosion of questions as clearly as if she had still been in the room. She looked over at Ray who was smiling nervously down at her as they walked quickly down the hall. They were walking far faster than they should have been and Suki realized that perhaps finally she wasn't the only one nervous about what they were doing. It had been different when only CJ knew that she was kind of maybe almost dating Ray.

"So did you want to get a drink before the movie starts?" Suki asked trying her best not to sound absurdly nervous.

"Sure." Ray's voice was soft and gentle and it ebbed away at some of the nervous energy pulsating through her body.

They reached the end of the hall and Suki wasn't sure which way would be the best to get a drink and get to the movie in time. She stood at the end looking down both halls her accelerated heart rate making the confusion and embarrassment all the more acute.

She could hear Ray muffle his laughter and with that one short sound the whole situation seemed a thousand times worse. That was until something large and hot grabbed her hand. She looked down at her hand and found it enveloped gently in his. Her eyes traveled up his arm to his face. He was smiling gently and warmly his dark eyes sparkled with hidden laughter.

"This way." he said before he pulled her playfully behind him. As he faced forward to make sure that he didn't run into anything Suki's eyes fell on his hand. How could something so warm and tender be able to punch clear through doors and put divots in metal? It seemed impossible. Suki could feel the warmth of his hand seep into her. There was something so intimate about the way he had without hesitation grabbed a hold of her and hadn't let go as they walked through the halls. The closer they got to the dinning hall the more people were in the hallway. Ray navigated her easily through the crowd and if she hadn't been so fascinated by the impossible contradiction that was his gentle hands she would have heard the whispers ripple through the crowd.

"what do you want?" His words broke the spell his hand had over her and she finally noticed that they were in front of the food dispensing wall.

"Ummm... popcorn and root beer I guess. Why mess with a good thing." she shrugged only now aware of the burning of peoples eyes on her.

_ding_

Ray let go of her hand to open the door and Suki's chest ached with the sudden loss. She stared at the lonely hand as Ray shuffled around putting glass bottles into a bag she hadn't noticed that he had. This was ridiculous. She was acting like a love sick fool. She shook her head trying to clear it of the fog that had settled there.

"So are you excited to see Casablanca?" she asked when they had started once again toward the theater. She tried to look anywhere but at his hand. It was so close to hers she could feel a tingle of anticipation settle in her hand.

"Well if there are Nazi's like you say there are and I get to sit beside you it should be perfect."

How did he do that, say such incredibly sweet things without the slightest hint of nervousness or fear. She was amazed and incredibly jealous. She was a mimic but she would never be able to capture that raw almost unprecedented confidence that was so incredibly Ray.

_you look beautiful in this light_

_perfect_

taking a deep breath she flicked her wrist and captured his hand. She looked up at him and was surprised to see a flush spread across his face. He squeezed her hand slightly and rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand. She wondered if he could feel her heartbeat through her hand for surely it was pounding loudly in her own ears. All she could hear where the lilting tinkle of the bottles and her heartbeat.

They turned a corner and saw students filtering into the theater. Out of habit she scanned the crowd for her friends and was shocked to find them. She stopped dead in the hall, Ray surprised followed her gaze and stopped as well. Just about in the doors were Ian and Gabe talking animatedly and asking a flustered CJ questions. It looked like she was trying to stop them from going into the room but was having no luck.

They stood in the hall holding hands watching her friends disappear into the room. Neither made a move to join the throng of students entering the room to watch the classic film. They watched the doors close.

"I guess we're not watching Casablanca." Rays voice was barely above a whisper and filled with a sad disappointment.

"I have the movie in my room." the words were out of Suki's mouth before she realized what that meant. Alone in her room with a boy. Alone in her room with Ray.

Ray seemed to process exactly what this meant quickly because his response when he turned to look at Suki was, "Are you sure?"

Suki was pleased that she could finally see his nervousness. He hid it all in his eyes and now that she knew that she could see all the awkward nervous mess she had felt twisting inside her reflected in him. Smiling she nodded.

They arrived quickly back to her room. Once inside Ray went to a desk and started to unpack the bag of foodstuffs and Suki went around the room getting all the electronics in order. They sat on the floor backs against Suki's bed and watched Casablanca.

Suki spent more time watching Ray than the movie. Studying his features as if there would be a test later.

"Suki stop it."

"Stop what?"

"You keep looking at me every time something is going to happen so I know somethings coming."

"Oh crap do I?"

"Yes." he laughed and she followed suit. Everything was easier with Ray in the dark when they were watching a movie.

"All right I'll watch the movie like this." She held up her hands like blinders and squared her shoulders towards the laptop.

"Su-ki?" Ray was having trouble speaking around his laughter.

"Nope I'm watching the movie no more distractions. look Nazis!" she pointed at the screen with the hand farthest from him and kept her blinder up. She had her mouth squeezed shut but her body was shaking with laughter.

"Hey! Suki!" Ray's voice shook with laughter as he grabbed at Suki's hands. Laughingly he pulled her hands away from her face and saw how hard she was holding in her laughter. Her lips were thin and almost white with her effort and her cheeks were puffed up with the laughter she was holding captive. He rested his head against her shoulder and laughed.

Suki took a deep shaky breath that shook Rays head and spoke in what she hoped was a steady calm voice something she thought would never come out of her mouth, "Ray you missed the Nazis! Now we have to go back." she slid easily away from him and re-winded the film.

She settled back in to the space next to him as close as she could get without sitting on him. She was amazed at how in the dark with a movie in the background her nervousness seemed to just melt away.

"All right pay attention this time."

"Fine just don't look at me when somethings going to happen."

"I wont look at you."

"No you can look at me. I like when you look at me."

She smiled sweetly but didn't take her eyes away from Humphrey Bogart. The rest of the film went on without a hitch much to their surprise.

Suki got up first and moved the laptop back to her desk.

"Suki?"

"Yes?" she asked not turning around as she made sure that everything was back were it belonged.

"I like Bogart."

"Well how could you not? He's brilliant in everything. Have you seen 'The Maltese Falcon'?"

"No."

"Well that has to be fixed as soon as possible." She smiled and turned to look at him and froze.

Ray had moved from the floor to sit on the bed leaning lazily on his knees smiling softly and looking at her.

There was a boy on her bed. There was a boy that wasn't Gabe or Ian sitting on her bed. Ray was sitting on her bed not paying attention to the fact that he was sitting on her bed focused on the idea of more Humphrey Bogart. Ray smiled lopsidedly at her and pushed his raven hair out of his face. Suki's heart lept into her throat.

"Do you have that as well?"

"Have what?"

"'The Maltese Falcon'? Suki whats wrong?"

"There is a boy I like on my bed."

"Oh?" Ray was trying to hide the blush that had burst into life across his face by looking around Suki's bed as if searching for who she was talking about. He stood up and in a step had closed the distance between them. His hand moved to her face and softly moved strains of her hair away from her face and tucked them tenderly behind her ear. His hand stayed by her head and he leaned in toward her.

"You better kiss me here this time." Suki pointed at her mouth and Ray smiled widely and laughed silently.

"If you insist." One of his hands held her head in place like he was afraid she would dodge him and the other moved to her back pressing softly into the small of her back. She could feel his breath on her face and could feel a tremor of nervous anticipation run from his hands into her.

Suki closed her eyes and raised her head to met him but instead of the sweetness of his kiss filling her senses the crash of the door being flung open did. Her eyes flew open and they flew apart.

There standing in the doorway was Ian, Gabe and a very apologetic CJ.

"I tried to stop them Sukie." She sounded pitiful.

"I was just leaving." Ray's voice had gone hard but the red still flashed across his face like a neon sign. He looked at Suki a thousand things flashed behind his eyes and Suki wasn't sure what she was supposed to get from this obviously meaningful look, "I'll talk to you later."

"Good night Ray." she could hear the disappointment in her own voice and she watched him exit the room back straight and head high he shouldered past Ian and Gabe.

Ian and Gabe came fully into the room and closed the door. CJ moved to sit on Suki's bed silently showing that she fully supported her roommate.

"What the hell is going on?"It was Gabe's turn to pace the room.

Ian stood still as a statue and said just as coldly, "He's not coming with us."

"Yeah!" Gabe pointed around at seemingly nothing, "we are not taking him with us."

Suki's eyes widened the thought of being on opposite sides of that huge wall had never crossed her mind. She hadn't been able to leave Dr. No for what she now realized was a fear of breaking his heart how would he feel if she escaped leaving him behind. A lump of sadness was growing in her throat. Suki took several deep breaths, "I know that." she tried to drain all the emotion from her sentence and ended up sounding angry rather than heartbroken.

"No one had to say that we weren't bringing Cal why is Ray any different!" she looked over at CJ whose eyes were studying the floor.

"You shouldn't even be with him! He's a big jerk!" Gabe almost yelled his face red, " back me up here Ian."

"Suki you'll only get hurt. If not now then when you leave him behind." his sentence hung in the air heavy and devastatingly true.

Suki swallowed the lump in her throat and pointed at the door, "Leave. right. now." there was such a dead finality to her words and the look on her face was so serious that Gabe scrambled out of the room.

Ian followed but before he closed the door he looked Suki dead in the eyes, "You know I'm right."

Alone in their room Suki sat on her bed and let CJ envelope her in a hug.

A/N: wow that ending wasn't very comedic. sorry guys.


	4. Maltese Falcon

A/N: wow three chapters three days that's crazy! I usuallyy get distracted by now I guess I just love Ray too much. Stories probably going to get a little drama fulled. Let me know if I need to change my genre. Thanks so much for your reviews it makes me feel like I'm not wasting my days off. Also an interesting side note, I totally haven't seen Maltese Falcon but I do own two copies of it.

Movie night: Maltese Falcon

Suki woke up still in CJ's arms and still in her clothes from last night.

"You awake?" she ventured softly trying to slide out of CJ's comforting embrace.

"Yeah." CJ's voice was a little hoarse bringing back the memories of crying over boys back from the fog of sleep.

"This sucks."

"Yeah it really does." CJ squeezed her arms around her friend one last time before she got off of the bed.

"What am I going to do." Suki asked the silence that settled heavily over the room as the two girls got ready for their lessons.

CJ looked sadly across the room at her as she pulled her socks up, "I wish I knew."

Ian and Gabe were already sitting at a table in the cafeteria when Suki walked in with CJ. Suki avoided eye contact with them and went to get her food. If there was one thing she couldn't handle today it was hearing Ian and Gabe chat happily over their french toast like nothing had happened last night.

"Where are we going to sit?" Suki asked CJ as they stood at the end of the line there trays ladened with breakfast foods.

"There." CJ pointed to the far corner of the room where sitting with Don Finch and some other boys that she didn't recognize was Ray.

"CJ I..." Suki wasn't given a chance to object for her friend was already moving towards the table of boys. She silently swept right by Ian and Gabe. Suki watched as the entire room seemed to pull in a collective breath. Never had Suki been more happy to have CJ as her friend. She followed her right past they'll usually table. The sudden hush of the teen voices must have alerted Ray because one moment she was watching as he ran a hand through his raven hair and the next she was looking into his dark eyes.

The twisting in her stomach intensified and she thought maybe now that the twisting had been the impending devastation of leaving him behind waiting to be realized. She smiled at him hoping that it wasn't as sad as she thought it might be.

CJ sat across from Ray without a word leaving a small space next to Ray open for her.

"CJ?" Don asked as if he thought that perhaps she was a hallucination.

"Yes Don?"

"Lover's querrel?" He asked leaning back and looking several tables away to where Ian and Gabe were watching complete shock written all over their faces.

"Could call it that." she said plainly picking up her toast.

"Morning." Ray smiled at Suki looking at her carefully as she sat down beside him.

She could feel his body heat radiate off him as she sat mere centimeters from him. The heat seeped into her and calmed that twisting knot in her stomach. She smiled softly down at her plate, "Morning Ray."

"You okay?" he asked softly touching her hand tenderly under the table.

"Yeah." She told herself but was sure both could tell that she didn't mean it. Ray squeezed her hand before going back to his meal.

"Did you want your bacon?" He asked hand hovering over her plate.

"Of course I do." She laughed at the hurt look on his face, "Oh go ahead you big baby." She watched as he happily relieved her of her bacon.

Suki was surprised at how well breakfast went. After the initial shock of having two girls join their party wore off the boys went back to talking about boy things and she and CJ were left to talk about everything but what they really wanted to talk about, Ray.

Suki was starting to think that Ray might have been magic. Just sitting beside him not even talking to each other filled her with a warmth and calm that she hadn't felt in a long time. He would let his hand fall under the table every couple of minutes and rest on her leg. His gentle soft fingers rested on the hem of her skirt and straightened it out sending shivers up her body whenever his skin came into contact with hers.

_Nutrition is over. Lessons will begin in 15 minutes._

CJ and Suki walked to their first class hidden in a group of Ray's friends which when Suki looked around and finally saw them properly realized that they were Rooks that Ian had mentioned or they had been Rooks depending on what had happened after Jeremy had been sent to West Campus. They could never have chosen a safer place to hide from Ian and Gabe if they had tried.

Suki walked beside Ray shifting her books from one shoulder to the other trying to find the best way to carry her heavy texts. She was surprised when the weight of them had suddenly disappeared. She looked around and found that Ray had grabbed the handle of her bag.

"Oh." a blush ran rampant across her face as Ray took the messenger bag from it and swung it over his shoulder, "thanks."

When they arrived at class Ray put the bag down softly on her table before moving to his seat in front of her with Don.

Ian and Gabe were already seated across the aisle from the girls. Gabe's face was an odd mix of anger and confusion. Ian just looked across the aisle and waited until he caught Suki's eye his disappointment in her was obvious and he just shook his head at her.

Seeing this CJ put her hand on top of Suki's. They were both far too aware at how unfair this escape was to their hearts. Suki wondered if CJ had also felt that twist in her stomach when she thought of Cal. Sure she liked Ian now but Cal had been a big part of her life and no doubt still held a part of her heart that Ian could never touch. Suki looked at the back of Ray's head and felt sick. He made her feel such a crazy array of emotions all at the same time she wondered if maybe her feelings for him were stronger than she thought.

Ray walked her to all of her classes, even the ones on the opposite side of the campus from where he needed to go. She found it incredibly adorable if a little unnecessary but if it meant having him close to her chasing away the painful truth then she was glad of it.

"Don't you have training with Coach now?"

"In a couple of minutes yeah."

"Isn't on the other side of campus?"

"It sure is." he smiled lopsidedly at her , "You're so good at geography." he laughed a little as they stood across from her class leaning against the wall. Neither really wanting to leave each others presence.

"Why thank you I am quiet clever." She smiled wondering if they looked like a couple, how could they not they were standing so close they were almost occupying the same space and they were laughing quietly together.

"You sure are." Ray looked at his watch and then quickly at the emptying hallway, "Come here." he grabbed a hold of her hand and pulled her down the hallway away from her classroom.

"Where are we going we have class right away." She laughed.

"Here." Ray pulled her into an alcove in the hallway they were hidden from the rest of the world.

Ray pushed her hair away from her face and rested his hands on either side of her face.

"What are you - " her words were cut off by Ray's mouth finally on hers. The pressure pushed her back into the wall. Everything else melted away and everything about him flooded and dominated her mind.

The way he smelled like soap and bacon.

The way his hands felt against her skin hot and trembling with a nervous energy she knew all too well.

How he was holding her like she was the most precious fragile thing in the world.

She was sure she would remember how he tasted for the rest of her life.

She could feel her heart pound in her ears and if she hadn't been so focused on remembering ever detail of this encounter she would have been worried that it would explode. A crazy kind of adrenalin pulsated through her body and raised her hands, she needed to touch him. She grabbed a hold of his sweater and tried to pull him closer to her. The other hand pulled at the collar of his shirt until it finally found the warmth of his neck.

They parted both heaving for breath, Ray rested his forehead against Suki's trying desperately to catch his breath.

"You have to get to class." he whispered smoothing out her hair.

"It's a lot easier for me than you." She sighed smiling, "You better get going." He stood and she straightened his collar, "I'll see you later?"

"Of course, you promised me more Bogart." He smiled cheekily and tapped her nose before he disappeared down the hall.

"You're late Miss Sato."

"Sorry." She bowed her head and went to take her seat next to CJ.

CJ took one look at Suki's red face, still heaving chest and staticy hair and gasped, "oh my god!"

"Miss Ward do you have something to share with the class?"

"No Sorry." She looked quickly down at her notebook and whispered to Suki, "Please tell me what I think happened, happened."

The smile spread across Suki's face was more than enough for CJ.

Suki walked to her last class with CJ still filled her in on everything that had happened in the alcove. She was so pleased she even used Rays voice for his parts. CJ hadn't seen her friend so pleased in what felt like years. They laughed and gossiped and playfully shoved each other.

The joking ended abruptly when they entered the classroom. There at the front of the classroom was a circle of students and no teacher. Which could mean only one thing.

A fight and Suki had a horrible fear that she knew exactly who the active parties where.

"Oh shit." CJ stood in the doorway and looked down the hallways keeping her an eye out for faculty.

Suki took a deep breath and rubbing her throat made her voice sound exactly like Headmaster, "Mr. Archer, Mr. Snyder beak it up." the crowd of students flew apart and turned to the door. Seeing only Suki the students collectively relaxed but moved towards there seats anyway giving her a full view of Ray and Ian.

They both looked at her a little ashamed. The only one who didn't look ashamed was Gabe he looked oddly righteous.

"What the hell happened?" She asked as she moved toward the group of boys.

All three boys were where quiet.

"Really? No one? Who started this?" She looked at each boy in turn but had no idea what had happen only that Gabe had had a bleeding nose, "Ray?" she asked softly and the hurt look on her face was obviously too much for him because looking away he spoke.

"Gabe sucker punched me when I got here."

"Gabe!" the shock was evident in her voice as she whirled around to look at her friend.

"He's just going to hurt you Suki!" Gabe pointed angrily at Ray wiping blood away from his mouth.

"I would never!" Ray exclaimed in that fearless sweet way that seemed to be written in his genetic make up. He seemed so surprised that anyone would think that he would hurt her that it warmed her heart.

Ian shook his head as he straightened his shirt. The white polo had blood splattered on it. He was standing so close to Suki that she thought she could smell the blood on him. He whispered, "Someones going to get hurt and you know it Suki. Its only going to get harder to leave him behind."

Suki shook her head, "i hate you." she whispered putting all the venom she could behind it.

"You only hate me right now because you know I'm right."

Suki shook her head and walked past him to Ray.

"Suki?" Gabe's voice was shocked.

She turned sharply to look at him, "Don't." She walked to Ray and looked him over, "You're not hurt?"

"No I'm fine."

_slap_

"What the hell!" He grabbed at his face eyes wide, "What was that for?"

"Gabe is stupid but it didn't hurt you did it."

Ray looked away rubbing his face, "no." he muttered as they walked up to his seat.

"That's what I thought now stop rubbing your face like it hurt." She took his hand in hers and pulled it away from his face, "You okay?"

"Yeah, are we still going to watch more Bogart?"

"Did you want to do that tonight?"

"If you weren't busy."

"I guess I could pencil you in." The twisting fear of leaving him behind that Ian had brought to the surface started to float away from her as a warm smile spread across Ray's face.

Suki sat on her bed with her laptop in her lap watching as CJ moved around her side of the room. Her grip on the laptop was turning her knuckles white.

"The whole school is a light with stories about how you punched Gabe in the throat for picking on your boyfriend."

"boyfriend?" Suki asked confused.

"Ray."

"Is he my boyfriend?"

"Probably." CJ stopped to look Suki, "That's okay isn't it? You do like him don't you?" She asked even thou she knew that Suki did.

"Yes I like him but we've only been on like two and a half dates. Does that really give him the title of boyfriend?"

"I think he gained the title of boyfriend when you made out in the hall and came to class all disheveled and happy."

"We didn't 'make out' we kissed."

"Hey I'm being generous, the school gave him the title of Suki Sato's boyfriend last night when you were walking everywhere holding hands."

Her blood rushed in to her face as she remembered him grabbing her hand, "It's so weird."

"What is?"

"He's so strong but his hands are soft and gentle. They could crush me in an instant but they always touch me in a tender warm way." she was talking quietly as she smiled to herself. CJ smiled warmly. Suki's feelings where written all over her face. All at once she was both ecstatic and incredibly heartbroken for her best friend. Ian was right, this would end in heartbreak for both parties.

"All right have fun tonight I'm going to the observatory." She smiled glad that Suki couldn't read her.

Suki sat in silence alone in her room waiting for Ray to arrive. When the knock came on her door she opened it to find what she had excepted Ray with popcorn and root beer. She would never be able to have root beer again without thinking of Ray. He walked in and Suki followed him across the room leaving the door open a little bit.

"The doors open." he pointed out as he opened the bottles of root beer and passed her one.

"I know."

"Oh..." he looked everywhere but Suki.

Did she really think that something would happen in the darkened room alone? Nothing of an adult nature had happened last night when they had been alone what had changed in a day? And they she remembered exactly what had changed. He had finally kissed her. A feeling that had had an overwhelming effect on her. If he kissed her again, which she would upset if he didn't, she wanted to have a reminder of where they were.

"So, are you ready for Sam Spade? You're going to love him."

She sat on the floor and set the laptop down in front of her Ray took the spot next to Suki.

"I'm sure I will." He smiled and brushed the hair from her face in the gentle calm way that she knew she was going to miss when she was on the outside.

On the outside, far away from tower prep, far away from Ray. The twisting in her stomach intensified and his closeness was unbearable. Knowing that soon maybe in a month she would never feel the tingle run across her skin like wildfire when he was almost touching her. Never see him run his hand through his hair. Never have him kiss the top of her head or her forehead or any of her. to never taste him again. The immense weight of not being around him seemed to crush her because she was having trouble breathing. There was a lump in her throat and her eyes were blurry with tears waiting to spill.

"Suki what's wrong?" his voice was worried and he looked all over her like maybe she had hurt herself on something. The sound of his voice threw the tears over. She would never hear him again. Sure she could imitate his voice when she was alone and remember all those sweet confident things he had said but it would feel hollow in comparison to his rich full emotional voice.

"Oh Suki, it's okay." She was crying for real now, not a slow beautiful crying that you get in romantic movies but the horrible, messy, runny nose, squeaking voice, shaking body cry of real life. Not sure what had happened Ray enveloped her in a hug pulling her so close to him he was afraid he might crush her. But her small hands grabbed onto him and pulled herself closer as if she was terrified that this would be the last time they would touch.

"What's the matter Suki?" He whispered in her ear as he rocked her. He remembered that a long time ago his mother had done this for him when he had been inconsolable and it had made him feel better.

"What if I never see you again." The words were quiet and could barely be heard between her racking sobs but he knew exactly what she was talking about. She was talking about that map that Emily had found. She was talking about escaping for Tower Prep and having to leave him behind.

"Shhh. " He pulled her away from him so that he could see her tear streaked face. He pushed her tear soaked hair out of her face and rubbed the tears away, "I will find you." He told her his voice was filled with that incredible confidence he wore so well, "I will always find you."

"but I..." Her voice was hoarse from crying but before she could say anymore he kissed her softly.

"I will find you."

"but Ray?" he stopped her words again with a kiss.

"I will find you Suki Sato."

She had never believed someones words more than she believed Ray right now.


	5. Bacon

Movie night: Coffee and bacon

"_I will always find you."_

Gabe and Ian looked at each other in the dim light of the tunnel. They looked awful in comparison to Ray. Ray's skin was neither bruised nor cut where as the two people who had been in a fight with him only hours earlier looked a little bit like hell. Gabe's nose was still swollen and Ian's hands were cut

"What the hell does that mean?" Gabe's face twisted into what even Ian could tell was a little bit more than just concern for a friend.

Ian shrugged in the tiny space before he pointed back down the tunnel. It felt wrong to use the secret passageways to spy on Suki. While he did feel it was necessary he left the small space feeling worse rather than better.

As soon as he had more space to move around Gabe's arms started moving around furiously like he was trying to fend off an invisible attacker, "This is ridiculous! How did this even happen? One day she's all Ray who? And then next its all Ray lets make out! What?"

"I don't think it's quiet like that Gabe."

"What you like that jerk now too?"

"Of course I don't, calm down Gabe, I just think you're not giving Suki enough credit."

"Credit? For what? And what was all that I'll find you crap?" Ian wished he was more surprised at Gabe but having lived with Gabe for a while now his tendency to be a drama queen hadn't been lost on him. But he knew there was no calming him down now and he tried desperately not to laugh at how how silly Gabe looked in the dim of the tunnel whipping his arms around at nothing.

Gabe was grudgingly silent the rest of the walk to the observatory as if he was thinking of every possible thing he could say against Ray. It was just as Ian stepped into the light of the room that he started up again, " What the hell does he mean by I'll find you? Did he hide a tracking device on her when they were making out? Ian? Do you think it's a-" Gabe realized why the room was silent when he stood up from the tunnel beside Ian.

Standing with her arms crossed and a very stern and displeased face was CJ, "Please tell me, " she spoke in what was obviously a very strained calm tone, " that you two idiots were not spying on Suki."

"We didn't mean to spy on Suki," Ian was looking at his shoes the sick feeling of spying on someone he liked was just getting worse, "we were spying on Ray..."

"I can't believe you two!" It was CJ's turn to wave her arms around like a maniac, "I...I...I just... I have no idea what to say." she finished softly and shaking her head she pushed past the two boys and disappeared down the tunnel trying to get as far away from them as she could.

Suki was asleep on top of her bed with a blanket pulled over her when CJ gets back to their room. She looked around and saw that everything was in its place as if Ray had never been there. Ray must have really cared about her CJ thought as she got ready for bed, because he placed Suki on her bed like a princess under a spell. It was just too bad that this problem couldn't be solved with the kiss of her prince. Things only seemed to get worse that way.

CJ saw Ian and Gabe at the table they usually sat at discussing things as if they hadn't been spying on Suki last night, "God I hate them right now..." She grumbled to Suki under her breath as they entered the room. Suki nodded and today took the lead. She swept right by Gabe doing her best to bump him as he drank his coffee on her way by.

"What the hell Suki!" He yelped as the hot liquid made its way through his sweater vest.

"I know what you did." She told him as cold as ice, her eyes like stone. Gabe shrunk back and took the napkins that Ian was offering him silently. The boys watched as the brains behind their operation whipped her hair around as she turned on a dime and made her way to sit with Ray.

"This is wrong, we have to fix this Gabe."

"I know, I know..." Gabe grumbled as he tried to dab his sweater dry, "I've never seen her this angry."

"You alright?" Ray asked softly as she sat next to him.

She smiled, "I feel a lot better now." and it was true, she did feel much better and not just because of the calming effect he had on her nor the echos of his words from the night before but because she had stood against Gabe with more than just her words. He had to know he couldn't just hyper-suade her into forgiving him this time. There would be no joking use of powers and laughing at how silly their argument had been. Not this time Gabe. This fight wasn't silly.

On the other side of the table Don was laughing and smiling at Suki, "Oh that was beautiful, I'm not sure what Forest did but that was wonderful."

Ray watched Suki carefully searching for something wrong. He knew something must have happened last night after he had left to pull the rift between Suki and Gabe and Ian even wider. Perhaps all this had to do with the escape they had been planning. Had he somehow put a wrench in their plans? All he wanted was to be closer to Suki before she disappeared from his life. He shook his head of that thought. Suki would never disappear from his life, even if it took the rest of his life he would find her again. He felt a horrible twisting in his stomach at the thought of their emanate separation. If only tower prep wasn't a prison.

While she was turned away he stole the bacon from her plate and replaced it with his fruit.

When she turned her fork back to her tray she went to stab the bacon only to realize that where her bacon had been there was now strawberries. She looked at Ray and saw from his profile that he was trying to smother a smile. Laughing she took her fork and reclaimed her bacon, "Why do you covet my bacon so?"

"Why must you taunt me with your bacon?"

"Taunt you? Never." She smiled as she took an exaggerated bite of her bacon.

"Ouch." Ray made a hurt face and brought a hand to his chest.

Ray held her hand tightly as they walked to class, almost as if he was afraid she would disappear. The truth was he was afraid she would disappear, his insides ached at the thought of not feeling her hand in his. He watched her as they walked towards their morning class, studying her movements, the way her hair moved as she walked, the way her nose scrunched when she talked about something displeasing. The exact colour of her mouth and the way it formed words.

"What is it?" She looked at him questioningly and he was mesmerized by the laughter in her eyes.

He looked around them quickly before he spoke, "Come here." he smiled as he pulled her away from CJ and his friends. He pulled her down an empty hallway. He stopped suddenly and Suki fell into his back at the sudden lack of movement. In a swift movement he turned and grabbed her waist and in an instant she was trapped between him and the wall.

"What is it?" she blushed feeling his closeness with every cell in her body. Her eyes focused on his mouth, her heart pounding against her chest as if it meant to escape her body. She placed a hand on her chest in hopes that it would calm the erratic beating.

"I want to look at you." his voice was quiet and filled with an unspoken urgency that she knew all too well.

They stood in the hall silently studying each other trying to remember every detail about the other for an intense fear that they would never see each other again filled them so painfully there was almost no room for anything else.

"I..." Suki started, the word had never sounded so desperately sad. Her hand moved to the side of his face feeling the hot skin there.

"Don't..." he whispered desperately as his face closed in on hers. His lips met hers softly and her body warmed at the gentle longing contact. The kiss was sweet and tender and quick. He pulled away slowly and smiled, "You taste like bacon."

"Way to ruin the moment." she laughed slapping him lightly on the arm as they made there way back down the hall towards the class they were probably going to be late for.

"If you had just let me eat your bacon."

A/N: Okay so I think the chapters might get shorter. It seems easier to write this way. Hopefully this means I'll be able to pop out more chapters more quickly rather than agonizing over the chapter for days. Now I'm going to see if I have any bacon and watch the Maltese Falcon.


	6. Duck Soup

A/N: This took awhile but hopefully I'm getting back into the swing of the story. The flow is starting to feel good again and I know exactly how I'm ending the story I just have to figure out exactly how to get there.

**Movie night: Duck Soup**

"Mr. Snyder? Miss Sato you are late." Gabe looked up from his notebook to see Couch History grumble angrily as the dark haired super jerk walked into classroom with Suki. Ray had the audacity to look both dishevelled and incredibly pleased with himself, Suki stood beside hi, so close they might as well have been super-glued to each other, her head was down and her eyes darting, but Gabe didn't have to see her face properly to know that she was blushing.

"Ian do we really? I mean look he just attacked her in the hallway for god sakes." Gabe swept an arm towards the ruffled pair.

"I'm pretty sure he didn't attack her Gabe..." Ian shook his head in disbelief, "and yes Gabe we need to fix this."

Gabe and Ian looked up at the late students when they heard Suki's familiar tones fill the room.

"Sorry sir." She spoke more to her shoes than to the stern looking man. She looked up at Ray when she noticed that his voice had been missing from the conversation, "Ray." she told him voice quiet and harsh as she gabbed him in the ribs.

"Sorry sir, won't happen again." Ray grumbled rubbing his side.

Ian shrugged, "Ray can't be that bad if Suki can make him apologize like that." Gabe grumbled in begrudging agreement and watched as Suki climbed the stairs to sit in her seat across from him.

"Suki." Gabe whispered sharply across the aisle. Suki however was doing everything in her power to ignore his existence, "Oh shit this is serious." Gabe told Ian under his breath.

Ian nodded in agreement, "Yeah I figured that out when she made you spill coffee all over yourself, speaking of which you smell like you bathed in the stuff.."

"Yeah thanks for noticing." The sarcasm dripped off his voice as he turned back to the lecture.

Gabe and Ian waited outside the classroom door waiting for Suki to come out but Ray came out first. The fire in the glare between the three boys was palpable and seemed to push the other students away from them for fear that the situation would explode.

Ray was the first to break the hate filled silence, "Try talking to her tomorrow, I don't know what you guys did but if you try talking to her today it will probably just get worse." They could see Suki through the doorway behind him talking animatedly with CJ, both girls looked like they were out for blood. Ian nodded understanding but Gabe crossed his arms and widened his stance like he was ready for a fight.

"I think I know Suki a little better than you." he said there was venom in his voice but instead of launching into a fight with the shorter boy Ray just shook his head.

"Really? Because it really doesn't look like that to me." Ray pushed his hair out of his eyes and sighed. He looked down at Gabe and could see that he wanted to fight. Ray looked back at Suki who had now noticed that the boys where talking just outside the room and while he was sure she couldn't hear what they were talking about a worried look had danced across her face before she remembered that she was angry with her friends.

Gabe and Ian both looked past Ray's slender frame and saw what he had seen. Ian put a hand on Gabe's shoulder trying to calm his friend, "Just because I agree with you on this does not mean that we are alright with you dating Suki."

Ray opened his mouth to argue the fact that Suki was a free women and she could date whoever she wanted but free wasn't the right word at all and as much as Ray hated it these two assholes where her ticket out of here. He shut his mouth and watched silently as the two boys disappeared down the hallway to their next class.

"What was that about?" Suki asked when she had finally left the classroom. She was standing just behind him with CJ both looking a little worried about what had transpired between the boys.

Ray shrugged not looking at either girl, hoping to avoid CJ's skill this way, "It was nothing, pretty much if I make you cry they'll kill me." he shrugged again hoping that they believed him. It wasn't that far from the truth because Ray was sure of a couple things in his life right now and one of them was if he made her cry Gabe and Ian would try and murder him. He also hoped that this would help get Suki back together with her friends. He didn't think he could stand it if they left her behind when they escaped. The twisting sickening feeling of her impending disappearance from his life intensified, he bit his lip telling himself that this was for the best she would go crazy if she had to stay here. He grabbed a hold of her hand and started walking down the hall towards their next class, "Come on if we don't hurry we'll be late for another class."

Ray noticed that Don had made sure that there were two empty seats at the table at lunch. Don had glared when Zack tried to sit beside him and when Jordan, a fellow rook friend tried to sit in the seat next to Ray Don had gotten visibly upset.

"What's your problem Finch?" Jordan was both bigger and older than Don as well as being a Rook, his voice was more surprised than angry.

"That's Suki's seat." Ray blushed and stuffed his face with his sandwich.

"Oh that's right. Our little Ray finally got himself a girl." Jordan laughed as he moved to the far end of the table.

"Don..." Ray's voice was muffled by sandwich but Don knew him well enough to pull out the embarrassment behind the word.

"What? It's true its totally Suki's seat. Especially since she and CJ are in a fight with those two bozos." Don smiled and shrugged, "It's nice having pretty things to look at while I eat."

"things?" Ray set down his lunch and was about get into a discussion with his best friend when Suki sat heavily beside him and everything that had been occupying his brain flew away and was replaced with every inch of her.

"Hey." He smiled at her as she placed a plate full of bacon onto his tray, "For me?" the laughter could be heard lilting behind his words.

"Just for you." she smiled and watched his mouth twist into a smirk as he pulled open his sandwich and stuffed it full of the bacon. She could hear CJ behind them talking sharply with Ian.

_No! I can't believe you and Gabe would do that_

_We thought she was going to get hurt!_

_Well you're the only ones hurting her now._

_Are you coming tonight?_

_Yes but I don't want either of you to talk to me._

Suki pulled in a deep breath and turned to Ray, "I was thinking we could try to watch Maltese Falcon again tonight if you weren't busy."

Ray looked first at Suki and then across the table to Jordan, they exchanged a meaningful look and Ray turned back to Suki looking disappointed, "I actually have something I need to do tonight." he watched as Suki's face fell and felt like an absolute jerk. Right now Ray hated being a Rook, he hated anything and everything that robbed him of time that could be spent with Suki.

"All night?" she asked as CJ finally sat down at the table to consume her lunch.

Ray nodded and even thou Suki knew that it was unrealistic to spend every waking moment with Ray she had been hoping that she could. She let the hand closest to Ray slip under the table and rest on his leg hoping that the contact would ease some of the heavy feeling that has fallen over her.

"Yeah and tomorrow I have to work on an English essay, can we watch it Wednesday?"

Suki smiled and nodded her heart warming and the heavy feeling lifted as Ray slipped her hand into his.

That night Suki watched as CJ got her things in order to to go to the observatory. Even thou she didn't have CJ's power of reading people it was easy to see that she wasn't looking forward to the mini escape from Tower Prep's oppression. It was unfair she knew to ask CJ to boycott Ian and Gabe as well but she still wanted to do it. She sat on the edge of her bed silently instead.

"I'm sorry Suki... I just want to get a couple of things done on the plan before the end of the month." She wrapped a sweater around her and climbed into Suki's wardrobe carefully pushing the back panel away from the wall, "I promise you I won't talk to either of them."

"Its fine CJ go do whatever you need to do and when you get back we can watch Duck Soup again, I know how much you love it." Suki smiled as CJ's face light up at the possibility of Marx Brothers in the near future,

"It's just so great," CJ laughed climbing into the tunnel, "I mean why is it called Duck Soup there's no duck soup in it."

When CJ got back to the room she found that it was filled with the sound of the menu music for Duck Soup looping over and over and Suki's soft breathing. Suki was asleep on CJ's bed in front of the laptop. CJ laughed quietly and closed the passage tightly and walked over to the sleeping girl. CJ looked down at the girl, she looked so peaceful when she was asleep, although the small girl usually looked pretty much anything but worried and angry until recently. CJ wondered if perhaps it was Ray's fault but she quickly stomped out the thought because when the two where together, right before and after they were together Suki had a joyous enthusiasm written all over her body. And when she watched Ray there was nothing but a gentle sweetness written in all his movements. At least for the most part. Sure she wasn't oblivious to the saddening worry and nervous anticipation that was so obviously written in the way they desperately held hands and searched for each other in the room but that was nothing in comparison to the betrayal that Suki obviously felt when she had to deal with Ian and Gabe.

"Hey..." CJ pushed gently at Suki's shoulder trying to wake her up.

"CJ?" Suki shifted in the bed and stretched, "You're back so soon, is everything alright?"

"Yeah Suki you fell asleep."

"Oh crap really?" Suki moved to make room for CJ on the bed and pulled the laptop into her lap. CJ happily got onto the bed and smiled as Suki hit play.

"Man I love this movie." CJ smiled as the title credits started to roll by.

"I know that's why where watching it." Suki laughed and settled into the bed falling quickly asleep. Calmed by the sound of CJ's soft laughter.


	7. Rooks

A/N: It is so crazy cold here. I thought it might be time to bring in Ray's 'friends' the Rooks. I want to do another one shot, I'm taking ideas and possibly requests if I like it.

**Movie night: Rooks**

"live by the wing, die by the talon." Ray recited before he took a deep drink from the ceremonial goblet.

Forest had been right it did taste like fruit punch. He felt the rush of the ability enhancer run through his blood and the calm that settled in after it.  
He had been taking the 'ravens blood' for almost three years and after discovering that Archer had stolen what was apparently the key chemical ingredient of the ravens blood he was starting to get curious as to what exactly he was putting in his body. Not enough to leave the rooks of course. No one left the rooks of their own accord, well Archer, but he was more commonly known as Jeremy's vain mistake.

Ray was pulled out of his reprieve when Jordan the new Odin called the meeting to order.

"live by the wing, die by the talon." he repeated after Jordan taking a goblet from a fellow Rook. He raised it to the light and looked deeply into it as if it would tell him exactly what was going on before he drank another cupful of the potentially deadly fruit punch mixture.

"So it has come to our attention that our little Ray has finally gotten himself a girl, isn't that right." Jordan smirked as he sat in the ornate high back chair watching Ray grow red under the attention being drawn to him.

"You know it is Jordan..."Jordan quirked an eyebrow and Ray shifted his weight before he continued, " most exalted one."

Jordan was still a new instalment and everyone kept lapsing and forgetting that he was there leader now, especially Ray who had rushed with him.

"Yeah isn't Suki Sato?" another Rook's voice came from behind him starting a rush of chattering.

"Nice job Ray she's a total hottie." Ray turned and searched for the voice making a mental note of which boys he deemed a potential threat.

"Yes yes, very nice but you know the rules Ray. Is she worthy of a Rook?"

"Are you serious? I have to justify my relationship to you?" Ray waved his arms around in disbelief.

"Hey we all had to do it man." Jordan shrugged and motioned for another boy to bring a seat for Ray. When the seat arrived Ray refused to sit in it, he leaned grumpily against the tall back of the chair an watched as Jordan sighed and waved him on, "You can start anytime."

"I can't believe i have to do this... she's a Sato for Christ sakes her families name is written on everything here." He took out his PDA to reenforce his argument, there written on the back of the PDA on a shinny silver plate was Suki's name. Jordan nodded in agreement and waved his friend on.

"More..." he whispered profanities under his breath before he went on, "She's the top student in school, she's beautiful, she only laughs at my jokes when she thinks there actually funny, she's sweet and kind and gave me bacon at lunch today because she knows how much i love it, if anything I'm not good enough for her and I'm just hoping she doesn't notice."

Ray sat heavily on the chair he had been walking around and waited silently for his friend to rein down his judgement on his new relationship with Suki. If he said no to him dating her he knew that he wouldn't stay and frankly is Suki wasn't good enough to date a Rook than no one was in his eyes.

No manner of spiked fruit punch was worth giving her up before he had to.

Jordan stood from his seat and smiled down at his silent sulking friend, "There is no need to look so grumpy brother it is merely a formality no one here could think of a better girl for you."

"Why thank you most exalted one..." the sarcasm dripped off the words as Jordan wrapped his arm around Ray's shoulder.

"Come brother Ray we have other things to discuss."

"Oh we do?"

"Yes we do..." Odin shooed some Rooks away from the alcove where they kept the wooden box that held the paddle, goblet and chemical compound behind the 'raven's blood'. Jordan pulled the box out from under the table and opened it.

"Should I..." Ray tried to avert his eyes, normal Rooks weren't supposed to look into the box and see the magical ingredient of the 'raven's blood'. Jordan just laughed at his friend as he opened the smaller box and revealed the small containers to the brunet.

"You dating Sato is actually quite beneficial to us." he fingered the slot where a fourth container once lived, "I have no doubt that Archer took this and I would like very much to have it back as soon as possible with as little fuss as possible."

"You want me to get it from Archer for you?"

"No I want your girl to get it for us." Jordan smiled and Ray felt sick. Ray stood there feeling sick and a little numb watching his 'friend' put the boxes away, "As soon as possible if it wasn't too much trouble." Ray saw something in Jordan he had never seen in him before. A fierce and challenging light in his dark eyes. They dared him to go against him, they seemed to want a fight. Perhaps he hadn't been such an odd choice for Odin afterall.

Ray hung his head in defeat knowing that this was not a battle he could win and spoke quietly, "yes most exalted one."

"God boy." Jordan smiled and patted him on the back before he slunk away into the group of boys.

With the new Odin gone Ray slumped against the table and sighed heavily. Zack walked over with a hand in his pocket and the other around a glass of 'fruit punch'. He quirked an eyebrow before he leaned on the table beside him.

"Everything okay?"

"Could be worse."

"He ask you to get the stuff back from Archer using Suki?" Zack asked his voice surprisingly bland. He smiled when Ray looked at him incredulously, "Oh don't look at me like that. It doesn't take a genius to figure out why Jordan was so pleased that you were dating Suki. Sorry man that's rough."

"Do you think she's going to think I was using her?"

"I hope for your sake she doesn't." Zack pushed himself away from the table and turned to Ray before he left him to think alone, "I liked the part about her giving you bacon. Too bad you didn't really need to say any of it. Jor- Odin would have been fine with you dating her even if she was the ugliest, stupidest cow at Tower if it meant he could get the stuff back... but it was nice. Even if it did make you sound like a big girl."

"Shut up." Ray pushed Zack playfully away and headed to the door. Maybe if he told Suki what had happened she wouldn't be upset with him. But that meant that she would know he was a Rook. Ray laughed quietly to himself as he left the room to go back to the dorms. Like it was possible that Ian and Gabe hadn't told her he'd be shocked if she didn't know. This was going against the rules but he was sure if it got the chemical back Jordan wouldn't care if he had to murder for it.

Ray stood in front of Suki's dorm and checked his watch, it was still before curfew. Knocking he waited nervously for Suki to answer the door.

"Hi I'm sorry to- oh CJ." Ray was surprised to see the taller girl. He looked around her and saw Suki asleep on CJ's bed on top of the covers a laptop playing a video of something light up her face.

"What's the matter Ray?" she asked searching his face for tell tale signs. He just sighed softly and smiled to himself.

"It can wait until tomorrow." he walked into the room around a startled looking CJ. She stood at the door with both it and her mouth open wide. She watched him carefully wondering what he possibly thought he was doing in their room this close to curfew. It quickly became obvious what he was doing when he moved to Suki's bed and started to pull down the covers. CJ watched him gently tug the sheets away from there respective corners, smooth out the wrinkles and then move to her own bed. She felt like she shouldn't have been watching the way he picked her up off the bed so delicately seemed almost intimate. He walked easily across the room and placed her softly on the bed. Suki was still sound asleep as he pulled the blankets up around her and tucked her into bed.

CJ looked quickly away as Ray leaned down to Suki. CJ knew what he was doing. He was kissing her good night on her forehead. CJ looked back in time to see Ray smooth her hair away from her face.

"You don't have to tell her I was here. I'll talk to her tomorrow. Goodnight CJ."

"Night Ray." CJ watched him disappear down the hall before she closed and locked the door to their room for the night. CJ looked carefully at Suki as she slept and it was obvious that even thou she had been asleep she had known that Ray had been there. A gentle and calm look had washed over her features and there was a sad kind of love written in the way that Ray had moved her hair out of face.

It was really too bad that they couldn't take him with them. She didn't understand why they couldn't Ray would be a great asset. She thought as she moved Suki's computer off her own bed and got ready to sleep. Ray was strong and could handle himself in a fight and he obviously cared for Suki so deeply it must have hurt.

Hell watching the way he moved around Suki broke her heart.

Tomorrow she would start arguing Ray's case to Ian and Gabe.


	8. Corvus H40

**Movie night: Corvus H-40**

Suki was genuinely surprised to wake up in her own bed, alone. since Ian had so blatantly pointed out the fact that they wouldn't take Ray with them she had woken up tangled up in CJ pretty much every morning. But no, she wasn't only alone but it looked as if she had been tucked in.

"Did you move me last night?" she asked confused.

CJ shook her head no, a slight blush working its way into her face as she tried to avoid eye contact with her best friend. CJ was already dressed and was moving the things on her desk around absentmindedly. It was obvious that she was waiting for Suki to wake up.

"What happened?" Suki was starting to get worried. She got out of her bed quickly and discovered that while she had been tucked into bed she was still wearing last nights clothes. She smiled, "Was Ray here last night?"

CJ finally looked at her, she was blushing, "Yes..."

"Why are you blushing?" she raised an eyebrow at the normally composed girl.

"It was just so cute Suki." she gushed, "It was like a romance novel. He walked calmly past me at the door, turned down your bed and then just swept you up in his arms." Suki wondered if that was way she had felt so safe last night. CJ was smiling as she moved around the room picking up her textbooks, "He was like a Prince and then he lay you gently on the bed, tucked you in and kissed you good night!"

Suki touched her mouth. She couldn't feel his presence linger there like she usually did. CJ noticed her roommate and shook her head. Of course he had kissed her forehead protectively. He wouldn't have stolen a kiss from her in the middle of the night. He seemed to treasure every reaction he brought out of her too much to steal it away while she was asleep.

"And the sweetest thing about it was he didn't really want you to know he had been here at all. It was so sweet..." CJ cut herself off but Suki could tell by the look in her eyes that she was about to say that it had been sad. She was sure that if anyone could see the desperate sadness that lived underneath every lingering touch it was CJ not only because of her skill but also because she too must have felt it when she had been with Cal, knowing that they would soon be apart.

Suki started to move around the room gathering her things for school, she was halfway in the wardrobe when CJ spoke again, "I have to talk to the boys today, you're going to be fine without me right?"

She was glad that her face was hidden from her because while she agreed that she would be fine she certainly didn't feel it. She stood in the empty room silently for a couple minutes composing herself before she headed to the cafeteria.

Ray and Don where already at breakfast when CJ came in and sat with Ian and Gabe. It seemed like the entire room let out a collective breath now that everything was returning to the status quo. Don looked particularly upset.

"What?" Ray laughed quietly around his waffles, "You didn't expect her to sit next to you forever did you?"

"No..." Don tore apart his toast grumpily, "but I had been hoping it would last at least a week." He put jam on his toast a little to vigorously and ended up with more jam on his hand then on the bread. Sighing he started to lick it off before he stopped mid lick as if some incredible realization hit him.

"You look ridiculous...what?"

"Does this mean that Suki won't be eating with us either?"

The thought hadn't crossed his mind because in his mind CJ sitting with them had never seemed connected to Suki but he supposed to Don they must have come as a package like so many other girls. Before he had a chance to respond Suki appeared in the doorway of the cafeteria, 'I guess we're about to find out.' Ray found that on most occasions Don was wrong, especially when girls were involved and he hoped more than anything that Don hadn't suddenly gained an insight in to the fairer sex.

His dark eyes followed her across the room and watched her pull her breakfast out of the wall. He bit his lip as she turned toward the room and saw CJ sitting in her regular seat talking animatedly with Gabe and Ian. He watched as she tried to quickly conceal the look of betrayal that had flashed across her face. And he assumed she did a good job because when she walked quickly past them people seemed to be shocked. She couldn't hide that look from him, he had memorized her face every inch of it committed to memory driven by the fear that her escape could be any day. Hell it could have been today.

_No,_ he told himself as he smiled at her, _not today they haven't reconciled yet... _A part of him, a jealous dark part, hoped that they would never reconcile, that Ian and Gabe would never take her away. A jealous selfish part of him wanted her to stay with him. He felt ashamed of himself as Suki sat down next to him, across from a surprised looking Don.

"Morning Don?"

"You're still going to sit here?"

"Do you want me to leave Don?" she went to move her tray and Don's hand shot out to keep the tray on the table. She laughed and placed her bacon on Ray's tray.

God he was in love with her. Ray swallowed hard and hoped she didn't notice how completely and utterly hers he really was. She could have asked him to eat glass for breakfast and he would. He softly moved some of her hair behind her ear letting his fingers linger longer than they needed to, memorizing the feel of her skin, the exact colour of her hair, the way it shined.

"Ray?" Suki turned to look at him confused, "Is everything alright?"

"perfect." he whispered before turning his attention to the newly appeared bacon.

Suki blushed hard and looked down at her plate. Focusing on her food rather than the boy beside her that paid her sweet compliments like they were the most natural thing in the world.

"I don't care if he's pregnant with her child! He's a big bulling jerk! I hate him right in his jerk face!" Gabe's shrill angry voice filled the room and both Suki and Ray, as well as the rest of the room turned to look at the shorter boy. It was obvious to everyone who he was talking about.

CJ was swearing at him and trying to pull him back down into his seat before he caused anymore of a scene. Suki caught CJ's eyes and CJ sent an apologetic look her way before she was obstructed by a monitor walking over to Gabe. He put a hand on Gabe's shoulder and the boy sat down hard.

"Wow Forest really hates you." Don spoke a little amazed at how true that statement was, "You're not pregnant are you Ray? I don't think I can handle Fenton talking about childbirth again."

"Again?" Suki asked in wonder. At some point it appeared that Ray, Don and Fenton had discussed childbirth. She would have loved to have been there.

Don shook his head and held up a slightly jammy hand, "Oh no, I never want to talk about it again. Forget I said anything." He turned in his seat away from Suki and continued to eat his destroyed toast.

Ray laughed and looked past Don, the laughter died in his throat. There staring at him from across the room was Jordan. He was really starting to hate him. Perhaps if he knocked him out he would become Odin instead of that jerk. If nothing else it would make him feel a hell of a lot better.

"Whats the matter?" Suki's concerned voice pulled him away from Jordan's eyes.

"I need to talk to you."

Suki's eyes widened at the seriousness in his voice, "Umm okay... did you want to go somewhere?" He nodded and stood up leaving his bacon behind.

Suki followed Ray through the halls to his empty dorm room. He opened the door and moved aside letting her go in first.

She walked across the room and sat on the bed she knew was Ray's, "I haven't been in here in a long time."

Ray closed the door behind him, "When have you been here before? To see Ian?"

"Not quite...what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" she asked hoping that it wasn't as horrible as it seemed it might be.

Ray sat heavily on the bed across from her, leaning on his knees his head in his hands, "I have to tell you something..."

"You're breaking up with me." Her heart sank and her throat was thick, that could be the only reason, why else would he need to 'talk' with her in such a serious voice.

"What?" he whipped his head up to look at her, eyes wide, confused that she would even think that.

"You're breaking up with me!" her voice squeaked and her vision got blurry.

"What? Oh god no!" Ray practically jumped off the bed and sat next to Suki enveloping her in his arms, "i would never..." he whispered into her hair as he rubbed her back.

"Then what is it?"

"I was just going to tell you I was a Rook."

Suki sniffled and pulled herself out of Ray's embrace, "Oh, I already knew that." She waved an arm dismissively at him as she whipped her face, "That's all? Had me worried over nothing."

"Unfortunately there's more." He said sadly as he pushed her damp hair away from her face and started drying her face with his hands, "Jerkbag Odin wants me to get the chemical back."

"You want the Corvus H-40?"

He nodded and watched as she stood from the bed and straightened her clothes.

"No."

"No?"

"You can't have it back I'm not finished analyzing it yet." She looked like a force of nature her eyes were slightly red but determined. She crossed her arms before she continued, "Also I don't think you should be taking that stuff before we know what it really does."

"Suki?"

"No Ray I'm not kidding, it could be doing serious damage to you." the worry in Suki's voice warmed his heart.

"How long until you finish analyzing it?" he asked knowing that he wouldn't be able to get it until then.

"I need to get the information on it from under...umm..."

"Under what? Under the school? Suki?" he stood up from the bed surprised. How many secrets had they uncovered?

"It's nothing..."

"Suki its dangerous down there." it was his turned to be worried, "You don't go down there alone do you?"

"Of course not, I go with Ian..."

"Who you're not currently talking to? Let me go with you."

"Why do you need it so soon?"

_If I wait you'll be gone._ He thought sadly but he knew if he said that it would only cause more problems and probably send Suki into a crying mess like she had been when they had tried to watch Maltese Falcon, "If I don't get it soon Odin will make my life hell."

"What can he really do?" she scoffed and turned to leave.

"He can get me sent to West Campus." he said softly.

Suki stopped dead in her tracks, she turned to look at him the shock written all over his face, "How?"

"A lot of ways." Ray said not really looking at her.

"We can go tonight." she whispered, "After you finish your English essay."

"Ah man. My essay is lame." he complained about the essay the entire way to their morning classes

A/N: dont worry people I know pretty much whats going to happen from now on. Also thank you to everyone whose been reviewing it really makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Its good to know I'm not completely wasting my days off.


	9. Tunnels

A/N: Sorry it took so long. I hope it doesn't disappoint. Let me know what you think, I'm pretty much driven by your reviews. Also thanks so much for the support so far.

**Movie Night: Tunnels**

If writing essays was boring watching someone write an essay must have been like dieing in the slowest most boring way possible. Ray tried desperately to focus on his essay but he kept seeing Suki move out of the corner of his eye. And frankly he thought she was much more interesting than... well anything.

She was laying on his bed half asleep and thoughts of joining her made his heart race and his breathing erratically shallow. All thoughts of his essay flew out of his head and were replaced by very teenage boy like thoughts of touching the girl on his bed. he shook his head and went over the essay, it was C work but that would have to do.

He moved silently to the bed and stood there watching her. She had her eyes closed but he could tell that she wasn't asleep because her breathing seemed just as erratic as his. He put a hand on the other side of her body and leaned down. His face was centimetres from hers when her eyes flashed open.

"Ray Snyder? Are you trying to take advantage of me?" her sweet voice was amused and the sound of his name in her mouth only intensified his need to touch her.

"I could." His voice was dark and husky and before he knew what he was doing he swung his leg over her, trapping her beneath him.

She squirmed under him desperately but the desperation didn't make it to her face. She was smiling.

"You couldn't."

Something dark flashed across his face that she didn't recognize and for a brief moment fear flashed across her body. He grabbed her arms roughly and trapped them on the bed over her head, "I could."

His words were dark and heated and his body pulsated heat. She could feel the heat of his skin everywhere, the pleasant burn where his hands held her wrists the twisting anticipation that had been flooding her body whenever he was close finally made sense. The idea that she was pleased to be 'trapped' beneath him sped up her already rapidly beating heart.

He leaned forward and captured her mouth heatedly.

The kiss was infuriating, she wanted to touch him, craved the feeling of his skin but he kept her hands trapped. The kiss stole her breath and made her heart slam against her chest. The kiss felt dangerous and urgent. There was no heartbreaking sadness hidden in the heated movements for once, it was pure unadulterated need.

He pulled away from her slowly and she tried to follow.

"You can't take advantage of me..." she whispered looking at his mouth. She watched as his mouth opened in protest but she silenced any word he was trying to create with a whisper, "you cant take advantage of the willing." Her eyes widened as the realization of what she had admitted hit her and she held her breath waiting for his response.

A blush grew rapidly across his pale face and he looked everywhere but at her. His eyes fell on the clock and he swiftly moved off of her. They both sat on the edge of the bed red faced, hearts pounding, breath quick and incredibly aware that they were alone... on a bed.

"Um we should get going." he launched himself away from the bed and tried to lean causally against the wall, his voice sounded anything but confident, "how did you want to do this?" He refused to look at her his heart felt like a hummingbird trapped in his chest. He was far too aware of the double meaning his words had.

She got up and crossed the room to Fenton's nightstand. She tried to wriggle it away from the wall but it barely moved. It had been much easier when it had been Ian's, "god this is heavy." She grumbled taking deep breaths trying to control the twisting nervousness that was her entire body , "what does he have in that thing? Rocks?"

Ray moved from the wall trying to reclaim his cool confidence, "where do you want it?"

She smiled at the fact that he hadn't asked why, "just out a little bit we need behind it."

He slid it easily across the floor with a couple of fingers. She smiled behind his back. She had pretty much told him that she wanted to be with him in a biblical sense and he still felt the need to show off. It was adorable.

"Ready?" she asked, she didn't wait for a response she pushed the panel on the wall and slid it aside, hopping into the darkness. She waited for him to climb through, she was probably going to catch some flack for this, showing Ray the tunnels but if it kept him out of West Campus she didn't think she really cared. Ian was worried about their secrets being exposed but they had a secret on Ray so it only seemed fair. Gabe would become unhinged if he knew what she was doing, but he had been nothing but a little bitch since he found out about Ray and she had no time for his jealous childish need for her attention. She let Ray put the wall back together before she started off down the tunnel on her way to the underground lab. Ray followed her closely keeping one hand on her at all times as if he was afraid to lose her in the maze.

"What would happen if we got lost down here?" Ray asked quietly. If she had turned she would have seen the glisten of fear in his eyes.

Suki had grown too used to the danger and darkness of the tunnels and just shrugged, "CJ knows what where doing."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

Once again she shrugged but this time she stopped and turned towards him, the hand he had on the small of her back slide effortlessly across her shirt.

"Do you need to feel better?" almost by itself her hand reached out to touch his face, she rested it there moving it slowly in what she hopped was a comforting manner. It was dim in the tunnels but she thought she saw a blush creep across his face once more as he turned into her hand. His smile was soft and she could feel it against her hand he kissed her hand softly, an echo of the act.

She was thankful for the dark once again. It hid her nervousness from him and every touch seemed to be so much more than just a friendly contact. The fact that she loved to be in the dark with him reminded her of what she had said in his room. She swallowed roughly as she moved her hand away from him and almost instantaneously felt the pangs of loss and a tightening and twisting in her gut.

As was the custom they made it to their destination without much problems, Ray had tried to go the wrong way twice but thankfully Suki had noticed before they were separated.

"I've never been down this far before." Ray's voice was quiet as he stood at the door keeping look out.

Suki looked around the room trying her best not to look at the Sato Scientific stamps on everything. She swallowed trying to keep the sick feeling in her stomach under control as it twisted restlessly at the thought that her family had not only had a part but a very large part in the history of Tower Prep. She was rifling through the filing cabinets when she realized what he had said, "How far have you been before?" she turned to look at him.

"Only under the school not in this...building..."

"We think this is what the school was before..." She grabbed several file folders titled 'Corvus H-40'. She turned back to the door to find that Ray had moved and was examining a piece of equipment.

"It's the Rook symbol...and..." He looked up at Suki, she shot across the room and flung her hands over her families name.

"Suki?" his voice was filled with concern and worry but Suki heard disgust and wouldn't look at him.

"I know...I'm a monster..." her voice was so deviated and her face was so red with embarrassment that it pulled at something in Ray's chest.

"Suki..." he whispered, his hand reached out to take hers but she flinched, "Oh god Suki..." He took her in his arms easily in spite of her efforts to escape his touch.

"I'm a monster..." she whimpered into his shirt.

"No." he stroked her hair softly his chin resting gently on her head, "You are not responsible for what your family has done Suki."

He could hear her sniff back her tears and try to compose herself.

"if anyone in this room is a monster it's me..." his voice was so soft and quiet that she wasn't sure if she was supposed to hear him or not. In response she grabbed a hold on him pressing hard against him as if she was trying to imprint herself on him. His heart ached at the thought of never feeling this again. He wrapped his arms more tightly around her as if this would keep her with him forever. He wanted to tell her to stay with him, to be with him forever but he bit his tongue. That would just make everything worse for everyone involved. If it hadn't been obvious to him before her reaction to her name down here made it abundantly clear that Suki needed out of this place. Away from Tower Prep, away from the teachers here, away from her family. The only thing she didn't seem to want to get away from was him.

He kissed the top of her head and released her from his grip. She reluctantly moved away from him and grabbed the folders in one hand and his hand in the other.

"I can't believe you Gabe." CJ shook her head in disbelief as she stormed around the observatory.

Ian and Gabe where sitting on the couch in front of her as if being reprimanded by a teacher. She had been pacing the room in front of them for an hour and every time they tried to move from the couch she would turn on them, give them a withering stare until they sat back down and let her continue to yell at them.

Her voice was clearly angry and if Gabe and Ian hadn't been so afraid to look directly at her wrath they would have noticed that she kept looking at the entrance to the tunnel and then her PDA worriedly, "Ian you're one thing but Gabe stop being a jealous jerk!"

"Jealous?" Gabe said incredulously moving a hand to his chest as if he was hurt by the mere idea, "Jealous of what?"

"Are you really going to try and hide your feelings from me Gabe? Really?" she stood still hands on hips looking down at him. He looked away from her ashamed, "It is written all over your face even now."

"Do you like Suki?" Ian asked turning to look at his best friend, his face twisted in confusion, 'You never said anything... but that would explain..."

"I don't like her like that!" He blurted out angrily his arms flying into the air.

"Then why?" CJ asked confused, "The jealousy is written all over everything you do these last few weeks."

"It's not fair, she spends all her time with him now..." he mumbled quietly not looking at anyone.

"Well if you guys hadn't exploded at her maybe that wouldn't be true."

Ian looked down ashamed , "We tried to talk to her today about it but she was so busy and then she disappeared into Ray's room with him." his face switched from shame to disgust at the thought of what they might be doing in there.

Gabe didn't feel the need to leave it unspoken thou, "Why is she even in there? 'helping him with an essay'," he air quoted violently, "Yeah right more like doing it." his face tinted pink as he said it.

"If you don't like her like 'that', why would it matter?"

"Because she's like my sister! It gives me the creeps seeing him put his Rook hands on her." he moved his hands around violently.

"Also," Ian spoke up his face slightly red as well, "If she gets all..." he made a very inappropriate hand gesture causing Gabe his laugh a little in spite of himself, and CJ to cringe, "Then she'll be in no condition to leave with us...or maybe-"

"Maybe she won't want come come with us at all now?" CJ asked eyebrow raised. It was written all over the boys that that's what they thought would happen now. She rolled her eyes, "That would never happen, Suki wants to get out of here more than she wants to breath. Also if Ray knew that she was thinking of staying he would never let her."

"What do you mean?"

"Does Ray know about our plans?"

"Did Suki tell him?"

"How could she!"

"That bitch."

CJ's eyes widened at how quickly they had gotten out of hand, "Emily probably told him." she yelled over there continuing profanities.

"What?" they both sat back down on the couch heavily.

"But she went to be with The Broken." Ian told her as if she had forgotten the whole debacle with The Broken disappearing.

"She was probably killed by Gnomes..." Gabe's words were far sadder than CJ expected them to be and a flash of pain flew across his face almost faster than she could read it.

"You don't find it odd that he has never asked her why she was upset about never seeing him again? You don't think it's weird that his response wasn't to calm her down about how that would never happen but to simply tell her that he'd find her? Its obvious that he knows. If he didn't know there wouldn't be a nervous sadness in everything he does around Suki, the way he looks at her too long as if he's worried it will be the last time? Am I really the only one whose noticed?" CJ looked at the pair amazed that they hadn't noticed what she didn't even need her skin to realize.

Ian and Gabe just shrugged, "We try not to look at them when there together." Ian admitted.

"It makes me feel kinda gross, in my tummy area." Gabe added patting his stomach.

CJ rolled her eyes and sat down opposite the couch, "I think we should take him with us."

Ian sat up straight and looked directly at her, "Absolutely not." the distrust was clear on his face and he made no efforts to try and hide it. She knew that he had just started trusting her again after the Gnomes had most likely killed 'the broken'. Ian didn't have any spare trust he was willing to bet on Ray.

"He loves her." she said quietly looking at her PDA instead of the two boys there was a message from Suki.

_Got the files on the way back now_

"That only makes him more dangerous." Ian told her sternly, it was his turn to be in control of the conversation, "I'm willing to accept that he knows about our plans but until he comes to me wanting to go with us that topic isn't up for discussion." his words were hard and final and his eyes held none of the kindness that she had grown used to.

She wondered briefly why Ray hadn't brought up the subject before.

"We are willing to accept that they are dating and be civil to him as long as he is civil in return. Right Gabe?" He turned to Gabe whose mouth was opening and closing rapidly as if he was a fish.

"What?"

"Right Gabe?" he looked at Gabe sternly more like a parent than a best friend, "We need Suki for our plan and therefore..." he raised his eyebrows and a look passed between them that CJ didn't have time to decipher. Whatever the look had meant it had broken down Gabe's resolve.

"Fine." he mumbled not looking at anyone.

For what felt like the first time Suki had made it all the way to something and back using the tunnels without any trouble. She squeezed Ray's hand hoping that some of his luck would rub off on her.

"How long do you need to analyze the chemical?" Ray asked in what he hoped was a causal voice as he put the wall and nightstand back in place.

"A week maybe depending on how extensive the information we got today is."

"Can I take the chemical back if I promise not to take any?" He asked but when he turned around he had forgotten what he had been talking about. She was sitting on the edge of his bed again her legs slightly apart, he could see more of her leg then usual and it sped up his heart. He couldn't believe how breathtaking she was, his chest tightened and something inside him twisted nervously. He double checked that everything was in place before he crossed the room. He stood in front of her.

She looked up at him smiling lightly, "You swear you won't?"

It took him a moment to realize what she was talking about but when he did he nodded, "Swear."

"I can get it for you tomorrow then."

"Thank you." his words were soft, "Before Maltese Falcon?" she nodded. He looked at her, desperately trying to remember everything about her. He moved his hand to the side of her face, she pressed into it lightly as he tried to remember everything she had every said to him but only one phrase kept repeating in his head, _can't take advantage of the willing_ his heart skipped as her hands grabbed a hold of his shirt and pulled him toward her.

_I love you_

His mouth wanted desperately to tell her but he feared what it would ultimately mean so he just kissed her.


	10. Drawbacks

A/N: I'm pretty happy with the way this came out. Welcome to the first long titled chapter of movie night. I was going to go straight passed this part but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

**Movie Night: The drawbacks of having Fenton Capwell as a roommate**

The kiss was heated but underneath that Suki could taste a soft sweet feeling that she was afraid to name for fear that she was right. It broke her heart.

He pulled away from her softly and found that her face was wet.

"Suki?"

"I don't want to leave you." she whispered trying to hide her tears from him.

"Sweet Suki..." his voice was barely above a whisper as he moved her hands away from her face and started to wipe her face clean with his hands, "Don't worry about me. I'll find you." he told her his voice so sure that she was taken aback.

"How?" her voice was thick with tears.

"I will find you if it takes me the rest of my life if only to share my last breath with you." his voice was soft and tender and matched his hands on her face.

She looked into his eyes, he believed everything he was saying. She didn't need CJ's skill to be able to see it. She believed him.

"I will find you Suki Sato if it takes a million years...believe me?"

She nodded and with shaking hands pulled him towards her. Kissing him roughly, needing as much real contact as she could. Soon she wouldn't have him near her to calm her heart and make it race, soon he would be on the other side of the wall from her. The thoughts of not being able to touch him devastated her, she wanted, needed more of him, the feeling of his skin on hers. She tried pulling him closer to him but she almost toppled him. He moved his arms on either side of her and placed his knee on the bed to stabilize himself.

He pulled away as much as he dared, "Suki..." his voice seemed deeper and it was slow and sultry and it fuelled the need inside her. She felt like she would die if she didn't touch him. She leaned back on her elbows and biting her lip she deftly started to undo the buttons of his shirt.

"Please." her voice was deeper than she knew it could go and even she was surprised at how desperately needy it sounded.

_I love you_ his mind screamed out as his mouth covered hers again.

He could feel the heat pulsating from her body and it spread through his like a sickness. The moment her fingers penetrated the fabric layer and touched his skin it felt like an electric current. He thought his heart would explode with how fast it was beating, his breath came swift and shallow and matched the erratic rhythm of Suki's breathing. His mouth moved from hers and he smiled at the displeased noise she made against her will. But as his mouth made contact with the soft skin at the base of her neck he heard something else.

Something that wasn't her sharp intake of breath, something that wasn't the metal scrapping of his belt.

Ray usually didn't mind Fenton. As long he wasn't singing he was alright to have around.

However at this very moment he hated Fenton with a fiery burning passion.

"Oh my dear, I'm terribly sorry..." Fenton stood next to the now open door looking upon Suki and Ray who were in a more than slightly compromising position.

They had frozen when the door opened. Suki was leaning back on the bed, Ray above her. He had a knee between her legs and it was inching up her skirt in an obscene manner. He had a hand on the buttons of her shirt and she had her hands on his belt buckle.

"Um... I..." Fenton blushed violently and threw his hands over his face.

"Get out!" Ray roared his dark voice going to a very primeval place, he picked up the nearest thing and whipped it at Fenton. It was a good thing that he had been distracted enough to miss because it turned out that he had thrown his English textbook straight through his dorm door.

Fenton yelped and jumped out of the room closing the now holy door behind him.

Nervously they parted and quickly sorted out there clothes.

"Do you want me to walk you back to your dorm?" He asked his voice still held some of the sultry tones it had when they had been tangled up together all of the scary uncivilized tones his voice held for Fenton dissipated.

"I think I'll be okay." she said lightly putting the folders into her bag. She swung her bag around her shoulders and stood in front of him. He smiled softly and pushed her hair gently behind her ear. He pulled her softly to him once more and kissed her forehead.

"Good night." he whispered against her and her heart fluttered.

"Night." she smiled warmly at him before she left his room taking the time to look through the hole in his door. She shook her head before disappearing down the hallway.

CJ was waiting for her when she got to her room.

"What happened?" she asked nervously, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine... why?"

"I heard that Ray through a book straight through his door? Are you okay?" CJ got off the bed and grabbed Suki moving her around looking for injuries.

"That just happened how did you hear about that?"

"Do not underestimate my networking skills Suki." She said quietly as she moved Suki's hair checking her neck, she found was a small red mark.

"Suki..." she quirked an eyebrow and watched the hot embarrassment flood her face.

"You have a hickey!" CJ wasn't sure how she was supposed to react to it, her mind was flooded with a weird happiness for her friend and then she saw it flash across her friends face.

_sex_

"Holy crap." CJ's voice deadpanned as she sat heavily on Suki's bed, "Do you and Ray?" CJ gritted her teeth and copied Ian's obscene hand gesture.

If Suki had been drinking she would have done a spit take, "Where on earth did you learn that?"

"Ian...but that's not the important question!"

"Ray and I did not..." She told her friend softly.

"You wanted to thou?" CJ asked eyebrow quirked trying to read the myriad of expressions dancing across Suki's embarrassed face.

Suki sighed heavily and shrugged and didn't answer the question at hand instead she said, "I'm really tired CJ..."

"Oh um sure, we can talk about...stuff later." CJ moved to the other side of the room silently and tried to read her friends face from a distance.

"Stop it CJ."

"Stop what?"

"I'm not stupid, I know you're trying to read me."

"I'm no-"

"Just go to sleep?"

Neither girl slept. But for very different reasons.

Suki was still worked up inside by Ray, her need to touch him had not gone away when she left his presence in fact, she thought that perhaps it had gotten worse. Somewhere inside her body twisted and tightened. An electric feeling coursed through her body and she could feel the echo of his hands on her. A left over heat and an overactive imagination kept her up for hours.

CJ on the other hand was filled with a nervous anticipation for the next day. It tightened her chest and quickened her heart as she thought of all the ways Gabe and Ian could royally screw up their chance to reconcile with Suki.

She imagined Gabe grumpily silent and Ian telling Suki that he would allow them to date.

Allow... she was almost sure he would word it as if he was in control of the situation when in reality Suki held all the strings. None of them could make heads or tales of the computer data that Ian had stolen out of Headmasters office. Suki would be the only one who would be able to understand what it meant. Suki was the only one who could hack into Whisper, Suki was the only one who could update their P.D.A.'s.

CJ felt a little useless when she thought of all the things they needed Suki for. She didn't understand how neither Ian nor Gabe recognized how important she was to their plans. It would have been so much easier to just take Ray with them. There would be no rift between the group, there would be no doubt as to where Suki's loyalties lied.

Loyalties... that was another thing that kept her awake. She could tell where everyone's but her's lied.

Ray stood in the hallway next to his dorm flanked by Don and Fenton. They were being reprimanded by a monitor.

"How did this even happen?" The monitor asked looking squarely at Fenton. Fenton was red in the face still and while he was desperately trying to remain composed he was biting his lip.

"Man why do I even have to stand here? I was in the third floor lounge for christ sakes." Don grumbled quietly looking sidelong at who he knew the culprit to be. Ray narrowed his eyes and gabbed him in the side softly with his elbow.

"Capwell!"

"Um yes sir?" Fenton jumped a little at the use of his name. Don and Ray sighed unhappily, it was obvious to both of them that the monitor was going to lean on the weakest of the three in order to find out what had happened.

"We know that Snyder broke the door we just want to know why."

If it was possible Fentons face got redder and Ray felt a little bad.

"I umm I" he faltered nervously it was obvious that he didn't want to tell about Suki and it made Ray like the tall boy a little more.

"Leave him alone, I'm the one who broke the door talk to me." Ray was impressed with how stern and commanding his voice sounded. He was looking straight through the monitor but he could see a relieved look flood his roommate face as the monitor turned his attention to Ray.

"Feel like explaining yourself now?" the monitors voice was filled with a fake authority that Ray saw right through.

"I was merely upset with my English essay and threw the textbook across the room, a little harder than I had intended to of course. I'm just glad it hit the door and not Fenton." his words came out even and calm and a little too believable but the monitor could do nothing against it. He had admitted to throwing the book through the door which was all they really had him on.

Grumbling the monitor nodded, "Fine your door will be replaced tomorrow during your lessons. Oh and don't be surprised if you get called in to speak with Headmaster."

The blue coat walked grumpily down the hallway away from them and the three filed into the room. Don stood at the door for a couple of minutes running his ran through the hole laughing.

"You broke the door again." Don laughed quietly as he walked across the dorm to his bed.

"Again?" Fenton enquired as he went about his pre-sleep routine.

"yeah like two years ago when we just started rooming together I came into the room earlier than usual and found our friend here in a shall we say less than dressed state...Fenton did you see Ray naked? Is that why you're so red in the face? Damn Ray I thought we talked about this?"

"That's not what it was." Ray told him grumpily, his body was still wired from the excessive contact with Suki he could still feel her heat and her hands on his body.

"Wait a second...wasn't Suki helping you with your essay? Holly crap!" Don stood so quickly from his bed that he felt a little dizzy, "Fenton! Where they! Did they! Did you?"

Fenton nodded slowly without turning around.

"Jesus Christ Ray!" Don was pacing in a small circle between his and Ray's bed. Ray sat down heavily and waited for Don to finish a thought.

"Don calm down..."

"I don't know if I should be proud or angry?"

"They hadn't done anything yet." Fenton offered from the opposite side of the room. Both boys looked over at Fenton whose face had finally returned to its original colour.

He was standing in front of his bed his pajama's and robe in one hand and his bucket of shower supplies in the other. Somehow in spite of the stuff he was carrying he gave off the impression of a teacher.

"I really thought that our first discussion on the impracticalities of a carnal relationship in Tower Prep had been enough but obviously that is not the case," he cleared his throat authoritatively and sat on the edge of his bed.

Don looked at Ray angrily, "This is all your fault." He looked desperately for a way out of the impending discussion but knew that it was useless last time Fenton had been hell bent on discussing the birds and the bees with him he had followed him around the school. They would be no avoiding it, he sat heavily on his bed and sighed defeatedly.

"I hate you Ray."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"You better tell me something later that is worth this torture." Don threw him a glare the likes Ray hadn't been on the receiving end since the last time they had been trapped by Fenton's words. It had been his fault last time as well.


	11. Maltese Falcon redux

A/N: Apparently Don's last name is FinchER rather than Finch...Ooopsie. I can't remember if I've ever said his last name in here or if it's just been an in my head thing. I guess i'll have to check the previous chapters. This took me forever to get right.

**Movie Night: Maltese Falcon redux**

After a long night of heated 'discussion' both Ray and Don felt like the walking dead.

Fenton however looked happily refreshed. No doubt feeling the joy of thinking he had helped someone. He even had the nerve to sing on his way out of the room for breakfast.

"I hate you Ray." Don grumbled glaring at his friend and throwing pants across the room hoping to hit Ray in the face.

"I know."

"I swear Ray if I have to hear Fenton say 'lubrication' one more time I am going to kill you."

Both boys shivered involuntarily and refused to make eye contact.

Ray was three feet away from the cafeteria when a hand came out of nowhere and pulled him away from Don and into an unlit storage room.

"Do you have it Ray?"

"Jordan?" he squinted into the darkness trying to make out the figure of his former friend. He could just make out his stupid arrogant face.

Jordan made an irritated noise in the back of his throat by being addressed by his name but pushed on anyway,"Do you have the chemical or not Ray? and I hope to god for your sake you do."

"Suki's getting it for me tonight but listen Jordan..." Ray could hear Jordan click his tongue in distaste

"Why didn't you get it from her last night." the menace in his voice turned Rays stomach, "The whole school knows you made it with her last night."

"What?" Ray was outraged that the school was talking about it already, especially since he had barely made it to second base, "Nothing happened!"

"Sure sure whatever defend her honour all you want all I care about is the chemical." his voice was hard and stern and Ray didn't like it at all.

"Suki's analyzing it, she thinks its dangerous and i have to agr-"

_WHUMP_

The small storage room was filled with the sound of air leaving Ray's body as he doubled up over Jordan's fist.

"What the fuck Jordan!" it hadn't hurt him as much as Jordan had wanted but it still hurt like a son of a bitch.,"When did you become such an asshole!" he wheezed trying to stand to him full height but failing as a sharp pain surged through his body

"Are you sure you want to talk to me like that Ray?"

Ray swallowed hard holding his stomach. Going against an Odin was always ill advised let alone one who was trying to prove that he had power.

"Get it to me tonight Ray. I'd hate to have to have another _conversation._" He didn't sound like he hated the idea at all. Jordan left the room leaving a beaten Ray with a bad taste in his mouth. Ray rested against the shelving and wondered what had happened to the Jordan McKleen he had known. His friend had been a smartass with a dark sense of humor. He and Ray used to make fun of Jeremy behind his back, they used to recite Monty Python together. He didn't know the person who had punched him in the gut. His friend was dead and had been replaced by a total douche.

The moment Ray stepped into the cafeteria the room fell silent. He glared around at the room searching for Suki. She was sitting with Don red faced talking quietly with Don. It appeared that she had heard the gossip as well. He moved to comfort her but he was stopped when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

Sighing heavily he turned, "Wha-"

_SMASH_

Ray's head knocked back as someone's fist slammed into his face.

"Gabe!" Ray could just make out Suki's voice over the ringing in his ears. He stepped back shakily but remained standing. What was it with today? Did he had a beat me sign on him somewhere. At least he felt Gabe's punch was founded.

"Ray? Are you okay?" CJ had a hand on his shoulder steadying him as Suki and Don rushed to his side. He could see Zack and several other Rook's around the room stand and remembered why he liked being a brother..

"Yeah just surprised is all." he could taste blood, he clicked his jaw back into place and finally looked at Gabe. He was red in the face, his eyes where narrow and his feet weren't touching the ground. Ian was holding him not only back but off the ground the look on his face was just as displeased as Gabe's but he wasn't looking at Ray he was looking at CJ.

"I told you something like this was going to happen." Ian's voice was low and far to calm for the look on his face.

"Nothing happened." Suki told him now at Ray's side, Don just in front of her.

CJ nodded her agreement, "Nothing happened."

"That's not what the school's saying! Ian let me go! I want to jam my fist down his throat!" Gabe squirmed in Ian's grip his shoes scuffing lightly at the floor his arm's swinging wildly almost whacking Ian in the face.

"You believe school gossip over you're friends Forrest?" Don's voice was far stronger and firmer than Ray had heard it in a long time. He had an arm out a little bit in front of both Ray and Suki protectively and it made Ray smile.

"Stay out of this Fincher! This has nothing to do with you!"

"Alright Ladies break it up or I'll take the lot of you to see Headmaster." A broad shouldered monitor crossed his arms and waited for them to disperse. They all side stepped to the nearest table and sat heavily.

Don had never been at such a tense table. He sat beside Suki, on what he could only classify as the pro Ray side of the table. He leaned forward and watched as Suki held Ray's hand under the table thinking that no one would notice and softly asking him why he looked like hell, and CJ sat on the other side of the couple glaring at Ian and Gabe. He could feel the ice in her gaze from here. He looked around the room and took note of Jordan cold gaze and Zack's concerned face.

On the other side of the table Ian and Gabe sat red faced and angry. However while Gabe's anger was aimed at Ray with heavy undertones of jealousy, Ian's anger was directed at CJ and Suki tainted with disappointment.

He liked Suki, he really did. She was sweet and funny and nice to look at but he couldn't help but think she was a lot more trouble than she was worth. Then again he didn't love her like it was so obvious Ray did.

CJ broke the tense half silence first, "I thought you were going to apologize today?"

"That was before we heard what happened last night." Ian spoke sharply the obvious spokesmen for that side of the table because while Gabe was usually better with words than Ian it was clear that the only words that were going to willingly come from Gabe's mouth were profanities.

"Nothing happened." Suki stated again her voice tired of the repetition, "How many times do I have to say it."

"It's true nothing happened." Ray's voice while it came out of a pathetic tired looking boy was still strong.

"Like you'd tell us if it did!"

Ray shook his head at Gabe's words. While that was true and frankly he didn't see how his physical relationship with Suki was any of his business, it was driving him crazy that they didn't believe the truth, "Fenton!" Ray called the tall boy over from his table on the other side of the room.

"Yes?" He asked coming over to the table.

"Would you please tell these two that Suki and I did not..." Ray blushed in spite of himself, " engage in a 'carnal relationship'?"

"Oh that is quite true, they were not engaged in any such act, in fact Ray, Don and myself have had several conversations on the impracticalities of engaging in such a relationship while at Tower and I believe that they are both agreed with me. Is that not true?" Fenton turned to look at his dorm mates who both nodded vigorously afraid that another discussion was fast approaching.

"You believe Fenton don't you? He couldn't lie if his life depended on it." CJ waved her arm dramaticly in Fenton's direction.

Gabe and Ian begrudgingly agreed. Fenton was probably the most straight faced honest person in the entire school. While the situation was still tense it didn't feel explosive so Don went back to his half eaten toast.

"You were going to apologize?" Suki asked wearily.

"Yes." it looked as if the word had physically hurt Gabe to say.

As if he had noticed Ian picked up were Gabe had ended, "It is none of our business if you want to...see Ray in you spare time. As long as it doesn't interfere with our extra curricular activities." He didn't know why he was speaking so vaguely about their plans to escape since apparently Ray knew all about them. But they were in a public place and it was a habit.

"It won't." She said equally as vague but she forced as much meaning into the words as she could.

"What are you doing tonight?" Ian asked trying to force his voice back into a friendly tone.

"Ray and I were going to watch the Maltese Falcon, last time I fell asleep."

"Oh where? Are they showing it in the lecture theatre?"

"No, we were going to watch it in my...room...what?"

Both Gabe and Ian looked scandalized. They looked at each other quickly before Gabe blurted out, "Sounds great we'll watch it with you!"

"What?" Ray asked surprised and displeased.

"Yeah, it's about time we got to know Suki's... boyfriend..."

"Forrest I've known you for more than five years."

"Exactly and it's about time we became...friends..." It seemed to hurt Gabe to say it as much as it hurt Ray to hear it.

"Whatever." Ray sighed and started to eat the bacon off of CJ's plate. He didn't think this day was ever going to end and it was only breakfast.

It felt like the worst day of his life, Jordan kept glaring at him in the hallways between classes sending a jolt of nausea through him every time, Gabe and Ian went everywhere with Suki so he couldn't get a moment alone with her and every boy in school kept asking him if Suki was a good lay.

So by the end of classes his knuckles we're cut and bruised from defending his girlfriends honour and his nerves were raw.

He leaned against the new door of his dorm and heaved a sigh of relief, the day was over. All that was left to endure was giving Jordan the chemical and watching a movie with Ian and Gabe and he thought if he concentrated on Humphrey he could make it.

"You got a new door already?" Suki's soft voice calmed his nerves.

"Yeah they did it sometime today." he watched her walk gracefully towards him a slight smile on her face and a secret chemical in her pocket. She looked both ways nervously before she took the vile out of her sweater pocket and outstretched her arm for him to take it. Instead he grabbed a hold of her wrist and pulled her into him. She slammed into his chest and he enveloped her in his embrace, holding her tightly wishing away the bad day.

"Are you going to tell me what happened now?" she asked her voice muffled by his sweater.

He inhaled deeply the calming smell of her, "No." the statement was simple but final.

"When are you meeting Oliver?"

He pulled her away from him to look at her clearly, "Nice try Missy but I am not telling you who Odin is. It's bad enough you even know I'm a Rook." He pulled her close again and kissed the top of her head. "I'll see you in your room in half hour, tops."

She nodded and watched him disappear down the hallway.

Ray took several misleading turns in case Suki had decided to follow him but when he finally got the the Rook 'clubhouse' every Rook appeared to be there as if there was a meeting. Which couldn't have been the case since he had not only not been informed but they had had one earlier in the week.

"Here." Ray handed Jordan the vile angrily pretending that he saw nothing ominous about the situation. He wanted nothing to do with Jordan anymore and was glad to be done with it. He turned to leave but Jordan grabbed his arm before he could get to the door.

"We're not done Raymond."

"I got what you wanted _Jordan. _We are done."

Jordan threw Ray back towards the centre of the room. Ray skidded uncomfortably to a stop but remained upright.

"It has come to my attention that you have been placing Miss Sato above your brothers, that is truly disappointing Ray." As Jordan walked toward him Ray watched as several Rooks took up the space behind him blocking Ray from the door.

"I wouldn't say that..." Ray tried to causally brush the hair out of his eyes but as he looked around the room he could see several of the boys who had asked him about Suki's more adult skills. He cleared his throat nervously. He was strong but so were many of the other boys around the room and he did not like the path this conversation was leading him down. It reeked of banishment.

"You don't have to _Raymond_ mine is the only opinion that matters here." Jordan sat in the tall backed chair. The dark twisting carving of the wood fit him so well. Ray shook his head, What had happened to his friend.

"Are you having me banished you twitchy son of a bitch?" Ray spread his legs to stabilize himself, "I knew you were a poor choice for Odin but this is absurd!"

Jordan stood quickly from his chair eyes ablaze with rage, he pointed at Ray, " Die by the Talon Raymond Snyder."

Suki sat on her bed with CJ watching Ian and Gabe pace the room.

"Where is he?" Ian asked nervously.

"Probably shooting up the Corvus with his Rook buddies!" Gabe flailed his arms around like he was trying to lift off.

Suki sighed she was surprised at how well they were taking the fact that she had given Ray the chemical. Perhaps the fact that she hadn't given him _all _of the chemical was what had calmed them down and the fact that she had agreed to start going back to the observatory to work on the escape plan. But while they were worried that he was betraying them she was worried that he was in trouble. He had looked beaten and nervous all day. Her heart ached and her stomach was a twisting mess of anxiety.

There was a thump at the door and Ray stumbled in through the open door, he looked like hell warmed over, he was cut and bleeding and bruised, He leaned against the wall allowing Suki to flock to him. He winced as she touched his face.

"What the hell happened?" Suki asked shocked.

Ian, Gabe and CJ stood behind her looking curiously at the beaten Ray.

"What happened Ray?" Ian asked a small amount of concern worked its way into his voice.

"Let's just say that the Rook's and I have...parted ways..." he smirked and softly moved Suki's hands away from him, "Did I make it in time for the movie?"

"The movie?" CJ asked her voice higher than she would have hoped.

"Yes the movie." he moved away from the wall and sat on Suki's bed looking at the four oddly, "I've been waiting to watching this movie..."

"Oh okay." Suki moved across the room and opened her laptop. She set it up on the floor, "Ian, could you get the lights?"

"You're sure you don't want to see Nurse?"

"The only person I want to see right now is Humphrey Bogart." He told him sliding off the bed to sit next to Suki on the ground.

Ian turned the lights off.

CJ closed the door.

Gabe got some cake he had brought with and while they were all distracted Ray grabbed a hold of Suki's face and kissed her softly.

A/N: I want to punch Jordan in the throat and I feel bad that I made Ray have such a bad day. I know some of you were looking forward to some more Ray Suki super action but you'll just have to be patient. Hoped you liked it. Now on to the next chapter of Ray's skills.


	12. Morning After

A/N: this took extra long because I was plotting out the end of the story. So if it makes you feel better I now know exactly what's in the last three chapters of the story.

**Movie night: Morning after**

Despite his strong desire to watch Humphrey Bogart be cold and cool as Sam Spade Ray fell asleep half way through the movie. His head fell against the bed and while he didn't snore it was obvious to everyone in the room that he was no longer awake.

When the movie was over everyone stood up, save for the sleeping boy. The four stood together almost touching like they had done so many times before and Suki felt a calm rush through her at the familiarity of it. They stood as a group on the other side of the room looking over at him. He looked far too blue and red for anyone's taste, even Gabe was finding it difficult looking at the beaten boy and he had had his fist in his face earlier that day.

"He should see Nurse." Ian spoke what they were all thinking.

"He'll never go, she'll ask too many questions." Gabe nodded scooping the last of his icing into his mouth.

"How is he getting back to his dorm? Should we wake him?" CJ asked softly afraid that she would somehow hurt him with her voice.

"It will take more time to wake him up then it would just to move him." Ian spoke wearily recalling his days as Ray's room mate, "Come on Gabe." Ian moved over to the sleeping boy.

"Why do I have to? Suki should do it she's the one who threw her lot in with him.' He whined but followed Ian anyway. It took a couple minutes of shifting but Ian and Gabe finally found a position that didn't make Ray feel like he weighted a million pound.

As Ian had lead them to believe Ray was a solid sleeper for even in Ian and Gabe awkward embrace he was still asleep. in fact he even nuzzeled into Ians chest a little. Ian's face went red at the intimate contact and Suki and CJ had slapped their hands over their mouths to prevent laughter for fear that Ian would drop Ray.

"Lets get this over with, its late enough that their shouldn't be that many people in the hall to witness this." Gabe grumbled walking backwards towards the door.  
CJ quickly opened the door and stood back watching as Ray exited the room sound asleep and horribly crooked.

Gabe must have been in someones good books because the halls where practically empty on the way to Ian's old dorm room. 

"It looks like we killed him and are trying to dispose of the body." Ian mumbled when they passed a group of scandalized girls.

"That's ridiculous Ian," Gabe shook his head, Ian could feel the shake run through Rays body. A devious smile spread across Gabe's face and Ian knew what he was going to say before he said it, "If we were going to kill Ray we would have done a much better job. I mean we could put him somewhere no one would ever find him, hell, we wouldn't even have to kill him." His eyes glazed over imagining a hundred different ways to deal with the Ray problem.

Ian smiled in spite of the fact that Gabe looked far too eager to commit a felony.

It was easy to tell Ray's dorm, even if one of them hadn't lived in it for the first month or so of his incarceration. The door was slightly brighter than every other door in the hall indicating that it had been replaced recently.

Gabe shifted Ray roughly and kicked at the dorm door.

The door opened immediately and Don looked out of the room a worried look plastered on his face, "Ray where have you..." Don's eyes widened as he took in the scene, Ian and Gabe were always unwelcome sights but his dislike for them intensified when he saw the condition his best friend was in, "What the hell did you do to him?" His voice was shrill and his face flushed the red of anger that only a red head could ever manage. He moved from the doorway letting them bring Ray into the room.

"It wasn't us Don." Ian told him plainly, setting Ray down on his bed.

"What the hell happened? Why isn't he in the infirmary?" He looked down at Ray who looked surprisingly peaceful. He knew exactly why he hadn't gone to see Nurse, "Never mind." Don didn't say anything else, he just stood at the door and held it open waiting for them to figure it out.

Ian left without a word, Gabe on the other hand paused to look up at the taller red head, "Do you know who did it?" He wanted to know if Don knew about the Rooks and Don was actually impressed with the stoic strength that was in the boys usually over exaggerated voice. Don just nodded a little bit and looked away as if he was ashamed and he was.

He closed the door behind them and went to Ray's side. He was angry but more at himself than at anyone else. He moved Ray roughly half hoping that he would wake up so that he could yell at him. He grabbed the blanket at pulled it free from the bed.

"You have no idea how lucky you are to have me as a best friend." He mumbled as he sat on the bed beside his friend and untied his shoes. Once the shoes were free Don threw them across the room at Fenton's bed. Don got off the bed, tossed the blanket over his friend and looked at him for a moment.

"You should have told me a long time ago Ray..." He shook his head and went to retrieve something from under his bed. It was a first aid kit. Don had wanted to be a doctor like his father before he had come to Tower, and frankly he still did, he had devoured medical text books as a kid and with his skill he remembered everything he had ever read. He had even work studied with Nurse last year and had spent the entire time slowly and discreetly acquiring materials for his first aid kit.

"You should have come to me first you idiot." Don bit his lip as he pushed Ray into an upright position and pulled off his t-shirt. Ray flopped back onto the bed shirtless and still sound asleep. It was as if it was drug induced and if Don had been a different kind of person he would have used this weakness to his advantage rather than using it as a natural sedative.

Don sat on the bed next to Ray, his first aid kit in his lap and began to softly take care of his friend.

Ray woke up in his own bed, loosely tucked in and a lot less soar than he thought he'd be. He pushed the blanket off of himself and looked down. His chest was bandaged and stitched in such a careful textbook way that it was obvious that Don had worked his magic on him once again. He looked across the room to where Don was asleep, still in his clothes his hands had dried blood on them and he was sleeping on top of his covers. Ray shook his head, while Don had made sure to tuck him in he hadn't even bothered to take off his own shoes.

It was Friday and that meant that after classes he had 'free training' time. He was going to hurt tonight. He stood up and got dressed being careful to not rip any of Don's handy work.

The dining hall was filled with the happy chatter of teenage girls and the slurping clashing noises of roughhousing boys. He took stock of the room and noticed that Suki hadn't made her appearance yet. He grabbed his breakfast and started towards his usual table. He stopped short however when he realized how many Rook's were already seated at the table, including Zack. His stomach twisted nervously and his chest ached at the betrayal as he turned his back on his usual table and instead sat at the now empty table Ian and Gabe usually occupied.

He sat with his back to them overly aware of every noise they made. He bit his lip trying not to show his nervousness when he heard the streech of chairs being pushed away from the table.

Zack came around the table to stand opposite of Ray, his tray was empty but he sat across from the beaten boy anyway. He reached out to pull at the collar of his 'friends' shirt and Ray took a deep breath steadying himself. There were at least five Rook's standing behind Zack and Ray was more than a little aware that he would not win this fight.

"Don patched you up then?" Zack's voice was quiet and perhaps ashamed.

"Just like always."

"Ray," he let go of the stiff cotton and leaned closer to Ray as if he ha a secret, "brother."

"I'm not you're brother anymore Zack." Ray kept his face straight not wanting to show how much it pained him that it was true. He had loved being a Rook. The safety and brotherhood, they had been his family when Tower Prep had taken away all but his name, they had helped him train when he needed it and helped him study. Being a Rook had taken away his fear and replaced it with a knowledge that he would never have to face a problem alone again. He had been stripped of a lot more than a plauge mask and spiked fruit punch last night.

"Ray, you will always be my brother."

Ray looked at Zack quickly, surprised, nervous, he looked around the room for Jordan but Odin was no where to be seen, "What are you talking about?"

"What happened to you was wrong, and I'm not the only one to think so. You haven't lost your brothers Ray." Zack smiled and stole some of the bacon off of Ray's plate before he left.

Ray sat alone feeling confused and comforted trying not to listen to the gossip floating around him. Apparently not only had he scored with Suki the other night but had gotten into a fight with Ian and Gabe over it where they had killed him. Some girl named Abby swore she saw them moving the dead body last night. That explained how he had ended up in his own dorm room last night.

Gabe was the first one to arrive by some odd twist of fate. He placed he sickly sweet looking chocolate pancakes and latte on the table across from Ray where Zack had left the chair out from the table.

"I'm..." Gabe started but stopped. He looked as if the words he had been forming where giving him a heart attack. He stirred his coffee and tried to ignore that he was sitting with someone.

"You have a pretty decent right hook." Ray told him surprising them both with an attempt at a conversation.

"Well it helps when I'm punching you."

"I'm sure it does..." he clenched his teeth and stabbed some egg with his fork. He had to remain civil with him. He could help Suki get away from this place and he didn't want to cause a rift between them again. He could help Suki stay alive, "How about on Gnomes?"

"What?

"How's your right hook against Gnomes?" Ray wasn't even going to pretend like he didn't know what was going on, he was tired, beaten and afraid for Suki's life.

"I haven't..." Gabe looked around nervously and sucked back some of his coffee before he looked at Ray, "Ian does all the fighting."

"Four of you and only one fighter?" Ray quirked an eyebrow, found that it hurt and stopped. He drank some orange juice and spoke again, his voice quiet, secretive, urgent, "I have _free training_ time this afternoon, if you want I'll be in 4B after classes." He didn't need an answer which was good because there was no more time to talk privately. Because Ian sat heavily next to Gabe. He sized Ray up as if they were going to fight and then flipped some hair out of his eyes.

"You're heavier than you look."

"Muscle weighs more than fat." Ray shrugged and busied himself with not feeling awkward invading their table.

"How do you feel?" Suki's soft worried voice put him at ease. He watched as she slid into the seat next to him, sitting close to him but not touching afraid that she would hurt him.

"I'm fine, a little soar but fine." he shrugged pushed his plate against hers, he watched her smile as he slid her bacon onto his plate.

"Did you want to see the movie tomorrow?" She asked relaxing into the familiarity of Gabe whining at Ian and Ray's closeness. Even if Ray was still pretty beaten Suki was happy to have her boyfriend and her friends sitting at the same table finally. She just wished it hadn't taken Ray's violent expulsion from the Rooks.

"What is it?"

"Holy Grail."

"Oh I love that movie!" CJ gushed making her appearance at the table and sitting next to Suki. The movie however didn't bring any happy feelings to Ray it brought up thoughts of Jordan, the friend he used to be and the beating he had received.

"I don't like that movie..." His eyes searched out Jordan in the busy hall and found him easily. He was sitting on the far side of the hall with several other older, cruel Rooks. Suki put her hand on Ray's.

"We can do something else if you want."

"Sure... what are you doing tonight?" He asked cleaning up his spot.

"I have um homework to do tonight, with CJ. Isn't that right?" Suki looked desperately over at CJ and Ray smiled softly at the interaction. It was obvious to him now that they all knew that he knew. Everyone except Suki.

"Yes." CJ's answer was nervous and sharp.

"Sure, I have training all night anyway." He squeezed her hand before he got up, "I'll see you later." he directed the comment to the entire table and it felt a little awkward but it was too late to take back. It was hanging in the air and he left quickly afraid the air would get too uncomfortable.

Ian waited until Ray left the room before he spoke but he didn't know why, "Are you going to look at the technical print outs tonight?"

Suki nodded, "CJ is going to help me. What are you guys doing tonight?"

Ian looked disappointed and sighed, "I have my new work study tonight."

"What is it this time?"

He heaved another heavy sigh, "Organizing specimen jars for Biology..." He looked anything but pleased to be moving jars full of formaldehyde around a dark store room.

"It'll be fine," Gabe clapped Ian on the back smiling, "Biology hates how everyone organizes his store room, you'll have a new work study by monday."

Ray was starting to get the idea that people thought he was dating Suki _and_ Don because every break between classes he would hold hands with Suki, take her happily to her classroom and then get dragged into the bathroom by Don. It happened every break like clockwork. Sure Don just wanted to make sure that his stitiching was holding and that Ray wasn't bleeding through any bandages but it was starting to a little suspecious.

"You should have come to me first." Don told him as they stood in the largest stall. Ray had his back against the wall and Don was leaned over examining his chest.

"Suki would have been worried."

"She would have been less worried if you had shown up half an hour late and didn't look like you had the shit kicked out of you."

"Ouch!" Ray slapped Don's hand away from a particularly tender spot.

"Oh don't be such a big baby, it's not like it's the first time."

Don retied the bandage and stood up, he ran a hand through his hair nervously and looked at Ray with a worried motherly sort of look that made Ray push the boy away from him, "You should skip training today."

"I'll be fine you pussy." Ray brushed past him and saw a twelve year old boy standing at the sink staring at the two, eyes wide, mouth agape face a brilliant shade of red, "What are you looking at!" Ray barked and the boy yelped and ran away soap still on his hands.

"What was that for?"

"That kid thought we were..." Ray flushed a little as he straightened his shirt. He looked in the mirror at their appearance and knew that if he had been on the other side of the conversation he too would have thought that he was having relations with Don. Don certainly didn't help the matter with his wild hair and his shirt not buttoned all the way.

"What?"

"Never mind it's not important."

"Did you want to help me with my math tonight? It's only fair since I saved your life." Don opened the door and let Ray walk back into the hall first.

"Can't I'm teaching a geek to fight tonight."

A/N: Not a lot of Ray/Suki in this chapter. But there is a lot of Don. I love writing him. There should be more Ray/Suki in the next chapter. This was mostly a friendship building kind of chapter. Hope it doesn't take as long to get the next chapter out... sorry about that.


	13. Varying degrees of silence

A/N: Sorry this took forever. It's unbetaed because I didn't want to wait any longer in posting it. I'm a little worried everyone's going to think I waited that long for this? If it makes you feel better i've already started work on the next chapter.

**Movie Night: Varying degrees of silence**

Ray raised his arm and blocked Coach's attack. He barely felt the impact on his arm but a sharp pain ripped through his side. He looked down and saw that a bright red stain was seeping across his white t-shirt.

"Shit." he mumbled, he should have known better, he should have just listened to Don and skipped out on training.

"What is this?" Coach pushed Ray to the side of the room and grabbed at his bloodstained shirt.

"It's nothing." Ray said quickly trying to pull his shirt out of Coach's large hands. The shirt didn't budge it remained firmly in Coach's hands as he lifted the shirt to see the root of the problem. Stitches in Ray's side had been ripped out. Coach saw far more than that thou, he saw the black, blue and red of Ray's beaten body.

"What happened Ray?" Coach's voice was sharp and strong and it pushed Ray onto the bench. He couldn't look at his face he knew there would be that paternal worried look and he didn't think he could stand it. Ray's eyes instead focused on Coach's wrist as he moved his hands away from Ray. He used to love Coach's watch but now he hated it. He held no connection to the man anymore, they were no longer secret brothers.

"I...I... I'm not..." Ray hated this, he looked away from Coach disappointed in himself, ashamed of how weak he sounded. He was supposed to be strong and not just for himself anymore but for Suki as well.

Luckily he hadn't needed to come up with a lie, Coach seemed to know exactly what had happened anyway.

"I see..." Coach moved silently across the room and grabbed the first aid kit. Ray watched the man's back hoping that he would bestow some wisdom on him like he used to do when he had first arrived at Tower but the man was silent, it appeared that he had been ostracized from Coach as well.

Coach knelt in front of Ray and opened the first aid kit, "Lift your shirt." his words were sharp and Ray silently obeyed.

They remained in silence as Coach patched up Don's handy work.

They remained in silence the rest of the training session.

Coach was silent as he left the room leaving Ray alone in the room feeling more alone than he had ever felt.

Ray sat on the bench in the silent room and waited. He wasn't sure if he should wait. He didn't really expect to see Gabe come through the door but it was either this or help Don with his math homework. Frankly waiting in the desperate silence seemed like a better choice over quadratics. He had been surprised at himself when he had made that offer to Gabe. He touched his face where Gabe had hit him, it was true it had been a good hit although Ray was displeased that he had been hit twice by that short hypersauder within a week.

The scrapping of the door opening was almost deafening in the silence, Ray whipped his head towards the door and saw Gabe step nervously into the room. Ray let out a soft sigh and stood up, thankful that he hadn't been sitting there going over how awful it felt to no longer be a Rook for nothing. Not being a Rook would be worth it if he could somehow keep Suki safe.

"How did you want to do this?" Gabe asked quietly the nervousness in his voice would have been obvious to a deaf man and it made Ray more confident.

"Well you're going to want to actually come into the room." Ray smirked as he watched Gabe straighten himself and walk further into the room. He stood in front Ray, defiant and pulled off his sweater and bag, tossing them to the side of the room.

It was impossible not to notice the giant bloodstain in Ray's shirt, "Should we be doing this..."

"I'm touched," Ray put a hand to his chest and smirked, but he waved it off and waved Gabe on, "Hit me."

"You make it really easy." Gabe narrowed his eyes and lunged at Ray, who watched Gabe's movement's like a hawk and then easily caught Gabe's hand and tossed him easily aside.

"You're unbalanced." Ray told him authoritatively surprising them both, "You want to spread your legs more." Ray pushed Gabe and he staggered backward.

"Hey!"

"Stand so I can't do that." Ray grumbled and waited rather impatiently for Gabe to settle into his stance before he pushed him again. Gabe stumbled backward again.

"It's not fair you have super strength." Gabe whined standing in what he thought would be a strong stance.

"Jump."

"What?"

"Jump." the word was strong and sharp and reminded Gabe of Coach so much that he nervously jumped. He landed in a steady position. When Ray pushed him Gabe slid backwards but remained balanced, "There you go. Now hit me." Ray held up his hands in front of him and bounced a little on his heels waiting for Gabe to strike.

CJ rubbed her temples and stared in disbelief at the tower of paper on the table in front of her. Suki was on the other side of the table half hidden by the papers. She was skimming across the information as she fed the print out through her hands and making quiet understanding noises. Ian was sitting at the couch somewhere behind Suki swearing at his homework.

"So how did you get out of you're workstudy?" CJ whispered trying to take her mind off of the confusing papers and the silence. Suki had gone through half of the printouts in silence and she had been worried to break the silence, but CJ didn't think she could stand the silence another minute.

"Gabe's right, Biology hated how I was organizing so badly he kicked me out after ten minutes." Ian smiled and leaned back into the beaten old couch, "Which is a good thing because I have no idea what this philosophy homework is supposed to me.

CJ smiled warmly, "Maybe I can help you after."

"Huh?" Suki put down the papers causing Ian to stand bolt upright and crane his neck to look at the girls.

"What?" CJ stood and walked to the other side of the table to see what Suki was looking at.

"You see this spike of energy?" She pointed at a large spike on the chart she was looking at.

"Yeah..." CJ spoke slowly looking at the spike on the chart not understanding why this was important or odd.

"It doesn't go to any routine I can place. It belongs to Whisper but I can't see what it's used for."

"What does that mean?" Ian asked moving over to the table to look at the energy read outs.

"It means if we find out what this," She pointed at the spike, "is for we might just be out of this place."

_Nutrition in five minutes_

Whisper's muffled voice rang from the hall outside the locked door.

"We can look into this after dinner." CJ smiled folding the printouts back into a neat pile.

"Sounds good, I'm starving." Suki wrapped her arms around her middle.

"Yeah I could do with some brain food, Philosophy's homework is making me crazy." He held out his arm like an English gentleman, "Shall we ladies?"

Suki giggled and linked arms with him, "Why I do believe we shall." she spoke with a genuine British accent, "CJ?" She held out her hand to her friend and confidant happily but noticed something odd flicker across her face.

"I'll be right there I need to do something first."

"We can wa-" she started but the loud grumbling of her stomach betrayed the sentiment, "all right we'll meet you down there."

CJ nodded and watched them walk out arm in arm laughing and talking excitedly, almost as if they had never been in a fight at all. It was amazing how quickly and easily they had fallen back into their friendship.

She silently watched them leave the room and didn't move until she was sure they weren't coming back.

She was jealous, she knew it wouldn't be that easy to forgive her.

With shaking hands she flipped through the printouts and ripped out page after page and stuff them haphazardly into her bag. Eyes red she tidied the table and stepping back she knew that they would think that they had lost the pages on the way back.

Hating herself she left the room.


	14. Gabe joins the fight

A/N: So by now youre probably aware that I have the attention span of a crow. Sorry. I've had this in the works for a while but was having trouble with it and didn't want to force it. On the bright side I finished Ray's Skills

**Movie Night: Gabe joins the fight**

Ian and Suki stopped short of the cafeteria, shocked.

Ray and Gabe were sitting at the table laughing and apparently having a completely amicable time.

"did we enter the twilight zone?" Suki asked quietly.

"a long time ago..." Ian answered dropping her arm and moving to the food dispenser never letting his eyes leave Gabe for very long. as if he was worried that he was under duress and might at any moment send him a secret code to rescue him.

Suki sat down next to Ray after retrieving what looked like chicken Kiev from Whisper.

"Have a good day?" she asked eyeing the pair of boys who seemed to have lost all of their animosity for each other in only a couple hours.

"It was all right." he smiled at her softly and a warmth spread through her calming her excited nerves, "how was working with CJ? get a lot done?"

"oh! yes..." she turned away from him because she knew if she made eye contact with him she would break. only minutes ago she had been ecstatic about the possible discovery but now it devastated her. her escape from Tower was inching closer, which now meant leaving Ray behind. she swallowed hard and focused on her meal.

Noticing the switch in her mood Ray quieted and placed his hand on Suki's leg. The electric nervous excitement shot through her body at the contact.

"So you guys seem...civil?" Ian spoke after looking sharply at both boys.

"oh?" Gabe shifted uneasily in his seat. 

"yeah." his voice was stern but worried and it reminded Ray of Coach so much that he had to look away. 

"Gabe just helped me with some stuff." he hated being vague it was just as bad as being overly detailed it screamed 'lie' and the only lies he was good at were of omission.

"Oh?" both Suki and Ian noticed right away the nervous secretive stance both boys had taken. It was particularly obvious in the normally loud and excitable Gabe.

"Yes." Gabe looked at them in that mesmerizing way so that they both knew that they were being swayed by his power but it didnt seem to matter. 

CJ sat down heavily beside Ian, she looked worn down but only for a moment, under their gaze she transformed into a worry free friend. 

"So what'd i miss?" she smiled and ignored the gnawing pain in her stomach as she ate and laughed with her friends. 

"Oh well Gabe is in love with Ray now." Ian told her smirking and stealing the pudding from her tray.

"Isn't that sweet." CJ laughed temporarily forgetting about her betrayal, wrapped warmly in the laughter and shoving protection of her friends.

As the group was leaving Ray waited until they were looking away before he kissed Suki quickly on the cheek. She smiled brightly the kiss felt warm and sweet and protective.

"message me later?" he asked his voice that soft low smooth tone that sent shivers up and down her.

She nodded, happily walking after her friends. when she got to them Gabe and Ian seemed to be having some sort of heated discussion. CJ cleared her throat sharply and both boys stopped speaking and looked back to see Suki looking at the confused.

"lovers spat?" she asked smothering a smile. 

"your spending too much time with Ray." Ian narrowed his eyes but Gabe was laughing quietly. 

"actually that felt more Don to me. what do you think?" Suki asked CJ. 

CJ nodded,"oh it defiantly a lovers spat." 

The girls laughed following closely behind the boys. Gabe was patting Ian on the back while smothering his own laughter. 

They stopped in front of Suki and CJ's dorm. Nowadays they usually went to the observatory through the tunnels in there respective rooms so that it wasn't as obvious that they were together.

"Ian I have to talk about something, we'll be along later."

"Sure." Suki smiled and disappeared into her room. CJ stayed a moment longer trying to read the emotions flashing across the boys faces. She knew instantly what they were going to discuss.

"I think he should come as well." she told them quietly so that Suki wouldn't over hear them.

Ian was pacing the room in front of Gabe fuelled by a nervous outrage and a fear that if he stopped Gabe would use his skill to get his way. 

"I cant believe you want him to come with us!" Ian's voice was sharp. 

"I can believe you don't." Gabe shook his head squeezing senior guapo protectively.

"Why should he come with us? why do you suddenly trust him with your life?"  
"He offered to teach me how to fight." 

Ian whipped around to stare at Gabe mouth open. He looked like a fish. It wasn't very flattering. 

"You didn't take him up on it did you..." Ian was talking slow and quietly and it would have scared Gabe if he didn't know Ian almost better than he knew himself. 

"I did."

"Is that where you were today? with _Ray_" his voice sounded hurt, betrayed even. 

"I was." Gabe didn't look ashamed, that was what Ian wanted. Gabe wasn't about to back away from this fight, he hadn't given into Ian's distaste for him running for student council and he wasn't going to give in here either. 

"How could you?" 

"Why have you never offered?" Gabe looked at him his eyes hard with determination. 

"I didn't think you'd take to it." Ian lied, the whole room knew it, even the rug, and it should know.

She wanted out of this place. it was poison, it was turning her against her friends. She wanted to scream, to throw up, to cry but she couldn't. If she showed any signs of being upset her friends would demand to know what was wrong so that they could fix it for her. But if she let them know they would never speak to her again. And with Cal gone she could no longer put the blame on her confused romantic feelings. No there was no confusion now, just fear and self loathing. 

She needed out of this poisonous trap, all this everything is fine bullshit was driving her insane. 

Having Suki confide in her but not being able to do the same was putting a strain on their friendship especially now when she wasn't the only one supporting her relationship with Ray. She hated how much she wished that Gabe hadn't warmed to Ray. She hated how Ray had left the Rooks. It had been so safe saying he should come with them when she was sure that they wouldn't agree.

There was no safe place for Candace Ward. 

"Is everything okay CJ?" Suki asked turning away from the wardrobe to look at her quiet friend. the look of worry on Suki's face let her know that she was letting too many emotions slip past her. 

"Fine." she smiled softly hoping that Suki would never need to know just how much that wasn't true. 

Suki shrugged and disappeared into the dark space behind the worn wood. 

"What do you think the boys are talking about?" Suki asked the darkness behind her. 

CJ wasn't sure if she should get Suki's hopes up. She didn't think she could handle the false hope so she did what she was best at. She lied,"I don't know, maybe Gabe needs to tell him about the love of his life?" CJ shrugged for good measure even thou Suki could barely see her.

"Who do you think that is?" Suki laughed good naturedly, "That girl whose the nurses aid right now?" 

"Gabe does seem to be going to the infirmary for everything recently." CJ smiled temporarily forgetting her misery. Suki always seemed to make things a little better.

"Its so true!" Suki's laugh filled the small space with a joy that ebbed at the darkness, "Last month he sneezed and wanted to go to the infirmary, I told him it was because of the dust but he went anyway."

"I've always thought that you were the love of his life." CJ added laughing as Suki whipped around to look at her in the small hall. Her face a mix of horror and humour.

"That's ridiculous, you know how miserable we were when we dated. Plus we dated for a grand total of two and a half weeks. Two and a half terrible yelling miserable weeks."

"Oh right, I always forget about that."

"No way I think Emily may have been the love of his life." Suki told her pushing through the panel to get into the observatory. Her words were quiet almost like she wished it wasn't true, the past tense glaringly obvious.

"Oh they did fit really well...I haven't seen her around lately have you?"

Suki held out her hand and pulled CJ into the warm dusty room, "Not for a while now..."

They stood silently by the hatch trying to think of the last time they had seen the vice president. They couldn't remember the last time they had seen the girl and feeling a little awful they moved toward the table with all the printouts on it.

"Do you need me to look at anything or am I mostly moral support?" CJ asked

Suki shrugged picking up the printouts running them through her fingers like she had before dinner. A seamless stream of data running past her knowing eyes. Suki turned the paper filled with figures and graphs to CJ.

"You understand this?" She asked eyebrows raised.

CJ held the paper closer to her and narrowed her eyes, "Not a thing."

"Moral support it is then." Suki laughed and went back to the figures sitting lazily in the chair. Her eyes darting back and forth across the paper.

CJ sat down at the far end of the table and tried not to watch Suki, waiting for her to realize something was wrong waiting to be ousted as a traitor. She started her philosophy homework reading the recommended passages hoping to gain some insight that she could share with Ian.

"What?" Suki stood up quickly her chair sliding acouple of feet backward.

"What is it?" CJ asked putting down her book looking worriedly at her friend.

Suki was standing with a piece of printout in her hand that was seperated from the rest of the roll. A page before some of the information she had removed.

"They were all connected before." She whispered harshly as if their may have been a spy in the room. Having no idea that the person she was confiding in was in fact the spy she was afraid of.

"What do you mean? Are you sure?" the taller brunette moved to the other side of the table and took the smooth paper from Suki. She looked at the jagged edge of the paper and cursed herself for not being neater about it, "Could it have been ripped on the way back here?"

"Then how are they still in order? I swear they were all there." Suki's voice was desperate and worried, but she was also scared that she was wrong she could read it all over her body.

"We probably just lost some in the tunnels Suki..." She handed the paper back to Suki, "Don't worry about it, I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out without the missing paper."

"You're probably right." Suki spoke quietly, appeased, unsure if she had seen all the printouts together. She grabbed her seat and slowly sat down taking a pen from the table she began to mark up the printouts.

"I actually did really well." Gabe told him, ignoring the painful lie. Gabe lived with Ian, Ian was his best friend, he knew he had a hero complex it wasn't difficult to figure out.

"Oh really? Against a boy who probably has broken ribs I'm not surprised." Gabe didn't like the bitter tone in Ian's voice at all.

"You and I both know that Ray is a good fighter no matter what condition he's in." Gabe turned away from Ian not wanting to look at his friend anymore, "We need another fighter or else we'll never make it." Gabe got up and moved towards the panel in their room that would lead him to Suki and CJ.

"Thar's not true."

"It is, especially since I'm so useless in a fight, right Ian?" Gabe glared at Ian, daring him to respond. Ian looked away and didn't look back until Gabe was in the tunnel.

"Can I think about it?" Ian grumbled climbing into the dark space in the wall, "He did leave the Rooks... that's something I guess."


	15. White Christmas

**A/N: I have nothing really to say... We're getting closer to the end. Can you tell? Hope you like it. Please review, you know I live for that crap.**

**Movie Night: White Christmas**

"Oh my god!" Suki's excited yell was the first thing Gabe heard when he reached the observatory.

"What!" Ian rushed past Gabe to Suki's side his eyes darting nervously around the room.

"It doesn't exist." Suki whispered standing back away from the towers of paper.

"What doesn't? What are you talking about?" CJ moved around the table to look futilely at the graphs and numbers.

"The wall..." Suki whispered and the room filled with a surprisingly ominous silence," the wall doesn't exist..."

"That cant be right." Gabe tells the room moving to look at the printouts with Ian and CJ. But they just say the same thing to all of them, that they have no technical abilities.

"It is!" Suki pushes through them and points at the graphs and the with her fingers links certain spikes with different logarithms, "This spike here, by cross referencing and process of elimination we see that this power output is the wall. But this is a pretty weird logarithm for what we figure to just be basically an electrified fence." she looks at each friend in turn to see if they are following her.

They are but barely. 

"This is putting out a different kind of wavelength, a subconscious wavelength..." she looks around again, raising her eyebrows hoping she doesn't have to break it down anymore than that.

"Meaning the wall is in our heads?" Gabe asks moving away from the crowded table.

"Exactly."

"That explains what the guy from The Broken said...about the wall not being there..." Ian's voice is low explaining more to himself then anyone else.

"So," Suki continued, "I can use this formula to... I don't know... create a temporarily disrupt this function."

Ian sits heavily in the chair Suki had occupied,"We could walk right out of here."

"How long will it take you to make the machine you need."

Suki shrugged, "A week?"

CJ's breath left her and her knees weakened almost to the point of falling. They could be out of here, away from this poisoning awful place in as soon as a week. It felt like a dream. She held her breath worried that the sound of it would shatter the dream.

The muffled noises of Whisper declaring curfew pulled the teens away from their exciting discovery.

"Get a good night sleep Suki,"Ian spoke softly to her as they all filtered into the tunnel,"we can start working everything out tomorrow."

Suki lay silently in her bed for what felt like hours, staring at the ceiling thinking of the wall that wasn't really there.

If she had been right they could be gone in a week. The joy she felt over the new development was hollow and short lived.

A devastating sadness settled into her chest as she thought of leaving. Walking through that wall meant leaving Ray behind. Something caught in her throat and she shut her eyes tightly hoping to stave off any tears from appearing.

She rolled onto her stomach forcing her face into the pillow hoping that the pressure would stop the impending tears. She had to think about something else, something that wasn't escape or the abandonment of the possible love of her life. There was nothing, everything seemed to lead to Ray.

'my English essay...Ray's English essay...he had so much trouble with those...maybe I could help him...did I have time to help him if I was leaving so soon...leaving...leaving Ray...never seeing him again...'

All of her thoughts went pretty much like that. Even when she had tried to move on to more absurd thoughts it still ended with leaving Ray.

'Jello...jello pudding...Bill Cosby...ridiculous sweaters...getting ridiculous sweaters for Christmas...Christmas...White Christmas...Good movie...I should really watch that soon...I wonder if Ray would like it...Will I even get a chance to watch it with Ray...It would have to be soon...this week...next week would be too late...next week I won't be here...I won't be with Ray..."

There was a heavy fear of never seeing Ray again coiling around Suki's heart, a desperate need to see him ringing through her body. she wanted to be beside him at least for a moment.

"CJ?" Suki called quietly out into the dark room. She could hear her shift but there were no awake noises.

Suki sat up in bed and narrowing her eyes watched the girl across the room,"CJ! the room is on fire!" she spoke quick sharp not quite yelling. but CJ grumbled something incoherent and turned over.

Satisfied that CJ wasn't going to miss her Suki got out of bed and disappeared into the closet.

She reemerged dusty and nervous beside Fenton's bed. She was glad that Fenton didn't have his nightstand full of rocks pressed up against the wall anymore and wondered if Ray had moved it in case he wanted to escape the room in the middle of the night.

She could see Ray asleep on the other side of the room, moving silently across the room she made her way to Ray, straining her ears to hear if Don or Fenton's breathing changed. She did not want to get caught in Ray's room at this time of night in her pajama's. All she wanted was to feel him close to her, feel the heat of his body wash over her in that warm protective way she loved.

"Ray..." she whispered looking down at him.

He shifted in his bed but didn't open his eyes.

Taking a deep breath Suki pulled the covers back and got into the bed. She laid down beside him in the small twin bed and pulling the blankets back up breathed him in. Suki could feel her face turn red and her heart speed up when Ray moved against her. He wasn't wearing a shirt and Suki moved her leg toward the boy, it appeared he wasn't wearing pants either.

Ray's arm snaked around her middle and he pulled her closer to him, a little too roughly, a sharp pain shot up her body.

"Ray?" She whispered, ears trained to listen to every sound the room made. This would be a very bad place to be discovered after curfew. Especially after what Fenton had walked in on not that long ago.

Ray's body tensed next to hers in such a panicked way that Suki knew that he had woken up.

"Suki?" Ray sat up in bed quickly and stared down at the girl in his bed. His dark eyes were wide and he looked wildly around the room, "What are you doing here?" He whispered sharply, harsher than he intended.

"I..."Suki looked away from him but didn't move from his warm bed. She was scared and worried, she didn't want to leave him behind but it had been made clear to her that he wouldn't be coming with them. She swallowed a lump in her throat and tried to focus on the feeling of his skin so close to hers.

Perhaps that had been the wrong thing to focus on because the tears came anyway. Silently staining her face and impeding her speech.

"Suki." Ray's voice softened and with delicate hands he wiped some of the tears from her face, "Shh it's alright." He laid down next to her pulling her close to him trying to focus on the tears transferring onto his chest and not on the fact that her perfect little body was pressed so closely to his. He kissed the top of her head and rocked her back and forth slowly, rubbing her back.

"I...I just wanted to be close to you." She whispered her voice thick and heavy with the sounds of her tears.

Ray could hear the sad desperation in her voice and easily figured out that this had something to do with whatever she had been working on with CJ earlier. She must be close to escape. What else would drive her into his bed in the middle of the night. He hoped that maybe her love for him had driven her to his bed but he knew it was probably more a desperate fear than anything else.

"It'll be alright," he whispered into her hair trying to memorize everything about sharing a bed with Suki. The feel of her hot skin against his, the feeling that he was going to fall off the bed, how desperately close she was, her hands holding on to him as if she was sinking, the smell of her skin and hair, how incredibly uncomfortable it was in such a small bed but how he never wanted her to move.

"How do you know it will?"

He smiled into her skin, "Because no matter what happens we will be together, sooner or later..." He pulled her face up to look at him and rubbing the soft skin of her face he kissed her.

It was sweet and determined.

"I will find you." he whispered against her mouth looking deeply into her wide scared eyes.

She tightened her grip on him, "I'll wait for you." she whispered, the words wavering and nervous.

The words _I love you_ where on his lips as he kissed her. He was afraid to tell her. He was afraid of what would happen if he let the words escape.

Would she say it back? Would she stay with him here? Would he be able to live with himself if he was the reason she stayed here? In this prison? He knew the answer to at least some of those questions. No he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

So biting his lip he ran his hand down her body, trying to memorize the curve and warmth of her body so he could think of her when she was gone. She shivered against his touch pulling herself closer to his heat. Trying to commit his sent to memory, the smell of his skin, the way it felt against hers, the hot electric feeling and the breathtaking calm warmth of being with him.

"Have you ever seen White Christmas?" Suki asked quietly against his chest, revelling in the protective feeling of his arms around her.

"Yes, I used to watch it every Christmas with my mother...before..." She pressed her hands into his back comfortingly amazed at how his lank body was so secretly powerful. Amazed at the hidden strength in his warm soft body.

"I haven't watched it since I got here...it just didn't feel right..." She knew exactly what he meant, there were so many things she couldn't enjoy here, things she used to love doing with Shinji or her father...she hadn't touched a chess piece the entire time she had been here.

She would have never thought that she could feel so connected to someone in her entire life. It was as if Ray Snider was a part of her. He had surely found a place in her heart. He had wiggled his way in with his surprisingly gentlemanly attitude towards her, with kisses on the forehead, he had won her over with movies and root beer and now she didn't think she could get him out of her heart. It was both comforting and incredibly sad knowing that Ray would always hold her heart.

_'I don't want to leave you.'_ she held on to him tightly pushing her fingers perhaps to hard into his skin, pulling herself flush against him making sure that there was no space between them.

_'I love you' _ Ray breathed in deeply and focused on the future, after Suki and her friends had gone, after Tower Prep, in the future where they would be together again. He could feel her fast heartbeat against his skin, _'I love you'_ he mouthed the words into her hair. Needing the world to know but fearing that Suki would find out. He listened to her breathing change and her hands relax against his skin. She had fallen asleep in his embrace.

It would have been perfect if they hadn't been on a twin bed in a boys dorm in a prison of a prep school.


	16. Letting Cats out of Bags

A/N: okay so don't hate me cause I was gone so long, love me cause I'm back? This has been in my phone forever just waiting patiently for me to get a Tower craving. So I got a craving for some Don so ta-da! Hopefully it doesn't suck. Let me know. Please forgiven the capitalization on some stuff as I never remember to capitalize in my phone and may have missed some in my effort to get this two you with the least amount of delay.

Movie Night: Letting Cats out of Bags

"Ray you stupid bastard get up!" Don yelled quietly, shaking his best friend.

Don was both impressed and appalled at what he had woken up to find.

Ray asleep with Suki.

"Ray!" Don shook him looking over his shoulder to make sure that Fenton wasn't getting up early to practice his opera.

"frak off." Ray mumbled and swatted at Don. Don easily dodged the sleepy attack and hit his friend square on a bruise from his falling out with The Rooks.

Ray's eyes flew open and saw exactly what Don was freaking out about.

They had fallen asleep. Suki was still wrapped protectively in his arms, close to his chest. She had rolled into him during the night and had nuzzled into his chest, her small hands resting on his skin and her legs tangled in his.

Ray closed his eyes and memorized this moment. If he got the chance to grow old he swore to himself that Suki would be the last thing he remembered. He memorized the smell of her skin and how the subtle sweetness of her contrasted with the smell of the room. The feel of her and the sheets against his skin.

"Ray... Fenton's going to get up any second and frankly I don't want to start my day off with a lecture about sex from someone who hasn't even kissed a girl."

"Suki?" Ray pulled the blanket away from them both and Suki shivered and pulled in closer to Ray. He smiled softly down at her before he removed her limbs from his.

"Suki?" he tried again tapping her cheek. She stirred and opened her eyes to see Ray and Don looking down at her.

"shit." she whispered, franticly removing herself from the bed. She rushed out of the room not caring that Don saw the secret passage way.

Suki stood in the tunnel just outside of Ray's room pushing herself up against the wall as if she tried hard enough she would melt into it. She stood there for several minutes taking deep breaths to calm her rapidly beating heart. Suki walked quietly and quickly down the twisting tunnels back to her room.  
Listening at the wardrobe door for a voice that wasn't CJ's she tried to straighten her clothing, every article seemed twisted slightly to the left, after several minutes of silence Suki decided it was safe to enter the room. 

"Where the hell have you been!" CJ threw a pillow at her from across the room. 

"I was..." she mumbled something hoping futilely that CJ would suddenly lose interest in her. 

"You were with RAY!?" she whispered harshly standing from her bed and marching over to the smaller girl. 

"yes." she sighed knowing that there was no point in lying to her. 

"did you sleep with him?" the harsh whisper had soften with what may have been awe. 

"technically." 

"what the hell are you doing!" 

"i dont know anymore..." she turned away from CJ's red worried face. she wanted to fight back, demand what was wrong with CJ if she was so willing to try and meddle in her affairs but that's not was came to Suki's mind. what dominated her senses was the feeling of Ray's skin next to hers, his arms holding her softly, chasing away the nightmares. 

"I just wanted to be with him." she pulled her uniform out of her dresser and walked away from her roommate and best friend. 

"Suki..." 

"don't," She held up a hand to stop CJ, "you don't know how this feels." Suki told her softly closing the door behind her.

"oh i know exactly how it feels..." she told the empty room letting the pain of betrayal flash across her face in the empty space. 

While Suki and Cj's room was dead silent Ray's dorm was anything but.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" Don was shouting.

"What happened?" Fenton kept asking.

"Nothing happened!" Ray shouted in return.

Don was red in the face his arms whirling around in that windmill way they always seemed to do when he was upset. Ray was throwing clothes around trying to get dressed and escape. Fenton was sitting on his bed thoroughly confused.

"How long has this been going on!"

"It's never happened before! and nothing happened!"

"I demand to know what has happened." Fenton told them both firmly standing to his full height which was at least several inches more than either of them.

"Ray slept with Suki." Don told the tall boy red in the face.

"And after we just had another discussion? Really." he sounded disapointed rather than outraged, "I knew I should have brought out those carts."

"We don't need charts!"

"Why would you even do that?!" Don was focusing on his outrage rather than the fact that some of Ray's stitches were coming apart, "Why didn't you just wait!"

"Because she could be gone tomorrow!" he yelled back. His eyes went wide and his hand clamped over his mouth.

Don was shocked into a temporary silence. He looked between Ray who looked horrified at his accidental betrayal and Fenton who was just nodding his understanding.

"What do you mean gone..." Ray shook his head, "Fenton?"

"He must mean the fact that Suki and her friends are planning an escape."

An odd look settled into Don's freckled features, "So when do you leave?" he asked quietly.

Ray's hand fell from his mouth and he dropped the clothes he had gathered, "What are you talking about?"

"When are you leaving with Suki?"

"I'm not going." Ray looked at the broken look in his friends eyes, "Do you really think I'd leave without you?"

"Yes."

The answer was simple and came quickly and was heart breaking.

"You're an idiot." was Ray's answer.

"You're an idiot."

"Maybe but I'm not leaving without you." He went to pull on a shirt when Don's hands stopped him pushing his lightly onto the bed.

Fenton watched as Don went about fixing Ray's stitches feeling incredibly awkward for witnessing the interaction.

"Who would stitch me up if I didn't take you with me?"

Don grumbled in agreement.

Ray looked up and saw Fenton awkwardly skirting around the edge of the room, "I'm taking you with me too Fenton."

Both Fenton and Don looked up at him amazed.

"You're sure?" they asked in unison.

"Yeah I'm sure and so is Don." he laughed.

Fenton looked at Don his eyes reminded him of a beaten puppy. He knew that Fenton was too soft and forthright a person to be left behind. When had this happened? When did he start caring if he hurt Fenton?

"Of course I am Fenton. Someone needs to help me keep this idiot in one piece."

The boys face light up, "When do we leave?"

Both boys looked expectantly at Ray.

"After I deal with some unfinished business." he told the room not looking at either boy. Don sighed positive that he was patching up this unfinished business.

"Yes, well, keep me informed chaps!" he smiled leaving the room happier than either boy had ever seen him.

-

CJ looked down at her phone as she left for breakfast, the words she'd been dreading had appeared.

_see me_

Closing her eyes tight she pushed ignore. She wasn't going to do it, not this time, not when she was so close, not when she could almost feel the fresh air on her skin.

She was going to be free. She told herself walking briskly down the hall towards.

-

Ian sighed, "fine."

"what! really!" Gabe's face light up, "awesome! this is going to be soooo great!"

"yeah." Ian deadpanned, "great."

He couldn't believe he had agreed it seemed like a disaster just waiting to happen but he had agreed mostly to shut Gabe up.

"okay...okay...I'll go tell Ray then."

"ya...you do that." Ian's voice once again deadpan. He watched Gabe scurry ahead of him to the cafeteria.

He didn't like Ray, he was sure he would never like Ray, and now he had agreed to help train up Gabe with him. It was going to be hell. He was sure every minute that Gabe spoke amicably with him would twist that anger in his gut. The anger he couldn't really explain. Last night when he had tried to explain to Gabe why he was upset nothing that made any sense came out.

Gabe kept pointing out the fact that Ray had left the Rooks, he had protected Suki's honour and that he really cared about Suki, surely too much to mess up her chance to escape.

It had come to a point where even thou he didn't like or trust Ray he couldn't keep trying to push him out of the picture without becoming the bad guy himself.

CJ fell in step with him. He turned his face away from her worried that she would read something.

"Ian, you can watch were your going, I won't read you." she told him her voice holding none of her humour as she pulled him out of the path of a couple of younger kids pushing a cart full of books back toward the library.

"Sorry Ceej." He smiled halfheartedly at her she returned it with the same feeling and they both knew without any skills that today was not going to be a good day.

-

"You should just leave the Rooks alone Ray." Don told him quietly as they walked toward breakfast. 

Ray just shook his head. He couldn't once you were a brother you were a brother for life and no beating would take that from Ray. He remembered what it had been like before he was a Rook, him and Don against the world, scared all the time.

He wouldn't go back to that.

"They're done with you Ray, just let it go." the nervous worry in Don's voice was not lost on him. 

He didn't want to worry Don but this was not something he was willing to let go. He spotted Jordan ahead of him in the crowd, eyes narrow he spoke with a darkness that Don had never heard in his voice before, "Maybe but I'm not done with them." 

Don was glad that he had another work study with Nurse because he was positive he'd need all the equipment he could steal.

-

Suki was already sitting at the table when Ray and Don got there. Don sat down across from her and was pleased to see that she couldn't look him in the eyes. She was red in the face focusing on her stack of pancakes.

"Good morning."she said quietly as Ray sat next to her.

Ray put his tray on the table and stooped down, placing a kiss on her head as he sat.

"Morning."

She bit her lip and focused on the feel of Ray close to her. The smell of his clothes, the warmth that seemed to just fall off him. She grabbed his hand tightly.

"did you sleep alright?" he asked nervously secretly worried that she hadn't felt comfortable in his arms.

"yes. I slept well, you?" she asked squeezing his hand.

"yeah, it was good."

Don rolled his eyes and stole the toast from Ray's plate, "man I can't image how awkward you guys would be if you had actually done anything."

"If they had done what?" Gabe asked arriving at the table. Ray watched his smile drop and his eyes narrow as he waited for some news that would destroy the fragile camaraderie they had gained last night.

Don looked up at Suki whose eyes begged him to save them.

The red head sighed, "Nothing, but look at them all they've done is kiss and hold hands and they blush like little girls."

Gabe visibly relaxed, "yeah, Suki I know your a girl but Ray you've got no excuse." He sat down next to Ray surprising the whole room, "So about yesterday..." Gabe said quietly trying not to let Suki overhear, "I was thinking Ian could help out."

Ray raised an eyebrow. Gabe was one thing but Ian? He didn't like Ian, didn't think would ever like him. He barely tolerated Gabe, he didn't want to teach him how to fight to help him, it was entirely for Suki. 

Ian hated him, would always hate him, it was a universal constant that he took comfort in when things went pear shaped. 

He looked down at Gabe and sighed, what was the harm in agreeing to something that would never happen.

"Fine, I have free training again tonight."

Gabe's face light up in a way that made him uncomfortable, it was the face he got when he was getting his way.

"Great Ian already agreed so we'll meet you tonight."

"Great..." the strain in his was evident but Gabe chose to ignore it. In defeat Ray turned to Suki and rested his head on her shoulder, "I hate today, is it over yet?"

Suki's soft laughter and the shaking of her shoulders brought a calm to Ray that he had before only known from the safety of Raven's blood.

"No."

"You are so cruel, why won't you use your magic and make it tomorrow?" he whined bringing another shake of laughter to her body.

Don sighed, "Tomorrow I'm sitting on the other side of the table so I don't have to watch this."

"Yeah this side is definitely less offensive to the eyes." Gabe responded around a mouth full of chocolate covered something or other.

Don pushed his plate away from him in disgust.

"What are you doing tonight?" Ray asked.

Suki shrugged finally dislodging him from her shoulder, "I have to finish a list for... a project."

She finished lamely and everyone at the table knew what she was talking about. Don tried to find something interesting in the far table leg that didn't quite hit the floor.

"Oh okay. Message me when your done and we'll hang out?"

Suki turned to look at him, he wasn't looking at her, he was focusing on his most likely cold breakfast. She raised a hand and pushed some of his dark hair behind his ear, she memorized the silky texture of his dark hair. It felt different then hers. Better, and she wondered if it felt better because it was Ray's. 

"Yeah of course." She answered pulling her hand away.

She looked at him and something inside her twisted nervously. She bit her lip and looked away from him. She was pretty sure she knew what these mess of feelings were now, but she took no comfort in the knowledge.

I don't want to leave without you... I don't want to live without you.

-

The phone beeped again.

"CJ your PDA is going off again." Suki pointed out.

CJ flipped the offending thing over so that she couldn't see the screen light up. She didn't need to see it to know what it was. It was another message demanding information, demanding a meeting, demanding the death of hope.

"Yeah."

"Your not going to answer it?"

"Nope."

Not this time, this time she would be free, no matter what it meant. No matter who was hurt because of it.

The twisting of guilt in her stomach worsened. It felt as if she was going to die. She wanted to scream and cry and burn things. She wanted, needed to destroy something.

"Who is it?" Suki asked far more interested in CJ's mystery messenger than was Philosophy had to say.

Taking a breath she pulled a believable lie out of the air, "It's Emerson, he keeps messaging me about a project."

"Oh? What project?"

"My History project, we're working with Naomi on a presentation." That wasn't a lie, they were in a group for history, "we all decided to do a small play and Emerson wants to back out."

"oh." CJ was pleased that boredom had settled into Suki's features once again.

"yeah, so I'm not answering him."

"good idea." Suki nodded, starting to doodle on the corner of her worksheet. Suki looked up as the PDA beeped again.

"Aahh!" CJ yelled ripping the battery from the unit, "no!"

"Miss Ward." Philosphy called from the front. The outburst had not gone unnoticed, across the aisle Ian and Gabe looked concerned, "One more outburst and you can go to Headmaster."

An icy cold fear gripped her, "I'm sorry sir, I'll be quiet." her head dropped, she held the battery in one hand and the pda in the other. No, she wouldn't see him, not this time, she flinched as Suki lay her hand on her arm. 

"not this time." she whispered. There was nothing he could say to make her betray her friends, not when they were so close, not when she could be free.

She looked over at Ian and Gabe. Gabe was pushing his notebook off the edge of the table. It hung there like a message board.

_Are you okay?_

Sighing she nodded. Everything was going to be alright, as soon as they were out of this place everything would be alright.

-

Lunch couldn't have soon enough for Ray, Don had been asking him questions all morning, like what did it feel like to sleep with a girl, how long had he known about Suki's escape plan, did he think other people knew about the plan, why had he started anything with Suki if he knew she was going to be gone, did he think that he could hold his own if they had to fight their way out, did he even have a plan to escape at all?

"Suki!" Ray yelled as he entered the lunch room.

She stood up quickly turning to look at him, "what's wrong?" she asked worried as he made his way quickly to her.

In a swift motion she found herself over his shoulder, "What?" she squeaked.

"I'm borrowing her." Ray told the table getting slow confused nods from CJ, Ian and Gabe.

Ray made his way back out of the lunch room his girlfriend secured safely over his shoulder. His arm clamped carefully around her waist.

He was holding her in that heartbreaking way like he was afraid to break her. His arm almost hovering above her.

"Ray! Put me down!"

"No."

Sighing Suki slumped down and rested her upside down head on Ray's back. Breathing him in, letting his overpowering presence calm her insides.

"Where are we going?"

"That way." she was sure he had pointed as his body shook softly with contained laughter. She felt his body tense up briefly and the laughter stopped dead.

"Ray...did that hurt?"

"No."

"Liar, put me down before you hurt yourself more."

"No, we're almost there."

"Don will never forgive me." she exclaimed trying to wriggle herself free.

Ray smiled, the pain in his chest had quickly subsided, pushed out to make room for the heavy warmth of having her skin against his, the weight of her on him. She's making his body burn up, he can feel the heat in his face and is glad for the cool breeze as he pushed through a side door and ends up on the quad.

"we're outside." Suki's voice laps over him, he can feel a light pressure at his waist as if she's crossed her arms there.

"my girl is so smart." he pats her legs and walks out into the quad, setting her down on a slight hill under a large oak.

"picnic?" she asks as he pulls out a small bag of sandwiches and root beer.

He shrugs, "thought it'd be nice to get away from everyone." by everyone he means Don. he loves Don, he does, he's been his best friend for years but he swears to god if he asks one more damn question he's going to put his fist through his head. So for everyone's safety he's kidnapped his girlfriend.

she smiles and takes a sandwich out of the bag, "this is nice." she tells him and there's a warmth in her voice that melts away all the anger and frustration.

He's pretty sure she's magic.

She falls backward into the grass and he follows suit.

They spend the lunch hour talking about nothing, just enjoying the quiet that;s intermittently broken up by ridiculous animal noises that burst from Suki's throat at Ray's request.

"We should do this all the time." Ray tells her his voice broken and lilting at the end of laughter.

The laughter that had been shaking her body suddenly stops and he watches the smile disappear.

_all the time _he berates himself, he's so stupid. there will never be an all the time in her mind. as far as she knows there time together is getting shorter and shorter. Hell this could be the last he see's of her in a very long time.

He swears quietly and it pulls her dark sad eyes to him.

He's staring at her mouth, she's saying something but he's not paying any attention to the sounds that come out of that magical thing, just mesmerized by the colour and the movement.

He kisses her.

It's too hard, he can tell because, good god can he feel it, but it doesn't seem to matter because her hands are on him her little fingers clawing into his skin and he can feel that too.

She tastes like root beer and blood and it's the best thing he's ever tasted.

He pulls away and his breath comes in huffs and her face is red and her chest is heaving like its one of Librarian's terrible romance novels.

She makes a small whining noise and tries to pull him back to her.

"I want to..."

"doesn't seem like it." she pouts.

"if I get caught..."

"we won't get caught." she lies, they are completely in the open and the bell will ring for classes in a few minutes and the quad will be flooded with students.

"if Don asks me one more question about girls i swear to god..." Ray sits up and the space between them feels insurmountable and it might actually physically hurt.

Suki sits up as well and tries to smooth her hair and pull loose grass from her clothes, "I like Don but he needs a girlfriend."

"yeah well..." he's reminded of the sudden hole in his circle of friends, the hole that used to hold Emily. The only girl that he thinks Don has ever had real proper feelings for.

Suki narrows her eyes as if she's trying to read what he's not saying in the twist of his mouth or the furrow of his brow.

Ray stands up, he has wood shop next and it's all the way on the other side of the campus, "I'll see you at dinner." he bends down and kisses the top of her head, "love you." he mumbles into her hair before he pulls back quickly and runs into the school.

He said it.

He hadn't meant to say it it had just tumbled out of his mouth like it was as natural as breathing.

He's an idiot.

He's a fool.

Why does he keep making this so hard for her. it's terrible but he's certain that its the selfish part of him that wants her to stay with him in this prison is growing. As the days go on the part that wants to hold on to her and never let go is getting bigger and bigger.

He's stupid and he didn't even wait to see if she was stupid too.


	17. Believable Lies

A/N: hello... just want to thank Seahaven for looking over my stuff. I've never had anyone get back to me so quickly. So I'm hoping that i get some reviews on this because honestly its pretty depressing to upload something and not get any feedback. Hope you enjoy

Movie Night 17 : Believable Lies

_Love you_

Love you

I love you

He loved her

It was two words and she was winded.

He'd said it into her hair with a kiss.

Her hands reached up into her hair and she wondered if she could feel it there, his words, but it was just hair, there were no abstract idea's sticking to her.

Not to the outside anyway.

It felt like he was stuck on the inside of her, like his name was being pasted to her insides like wallpaper.

"Love you" she said out loud in his voice, focused on the tones he'd used because she knew that she'd be saying these two huge words to herself a lot and she wanted it to be right.

The bell rang for her afternoon class. It was her mimicry training. Perhaps a couple hours of copying would untangle the knot in her stomach, cool the fever in her skin. 

She was on her second hour of blueprint coping, she liked to call it forgery but Trainer didn't like that. They were electrical blueprints and she tried her best not to focus on what the piece of electrical equipment was made to do and instead focused on the particular connections.

She just needed to keep her head down; she didn't need to draw attention to herself, not this close to freedom. No, Ian, CJ and Gabe needed her.

They couldn't do it without her.

It was her responsibility to get them out of this place. She had to do it for CJ if no one else, she didn't need her powers to tell that this place was draining her, it was dragging her down.

"CJ Ward to the Headmaster's office. CJ Ward to the Headmaster's office." Whispers voice blasted from the speakers overhead.

-

A chill ran through her body. It was suddenly ice cold in the classroom that had only moments ago been the perfect temperature.

"CJ go ahead, you might as well take your books." French told her smiling gently and waving her out of the classroom.

She stood up and grabbed her workbook from the table, her hands were shaking. She tossed the book into her bag and hid her hands in her pockets and at a death march pace headed towards the Headmaster's office.

She should have known that she couldn't hide from him for long, but god she had wanted this time to be different. She didn't want to lose this time. She didn't think she could handle it.

She took the longest route possible to the administration building, but in the end all roads lead to it, all roads lead to Headmaster and betrayal.

They'd never forgive her.

They'd never speak to her again.

She'd be all alone again, just like last time.

"Miss Ward." Headmaster ushered her into the office all hardwood and oppression. She heard the heavy click of the door.

She sat down in a chair opposite of the desk and tried to steal herself. this time was different. it was, this time things were going to go the way she wanted them to go and not his way, she wouldn't be a puppet anymore.

-

He looked around the empty room, his hand causally on a stack of antiseptic pads. 

He waiting quietly making absolute sure that no one would see. 

His fingers slid down the side of the stack and he counted out ten of the little things and slid them into the lining of his messenger bag. 

"Mr. Finch if you could be so kind as to come here." Nurse called from the office. 

Oh god he's caught 

He's caught! 

Oh my god! 

He was going to be sent to West Campus! 

"Coming." he tried to keep the shake out of his voice but it was impossible. 

He stands in the door frame; his hands clasped tightly waiting for his terrible fate. 

Of course he'd get sent to west campus the day he discovers that Ray intends to break him out. 

How terrible and cruel the world was. 

"Mr. Finch," Nurse starts turning in her chair to look directly at him, her face is calm and shows nothing. Really she could make a killing on the poker circuit, "I've been looking over the reports for your work studies." 

"Oh?" 

Surely she's about to lay the hammer down, she's about to tell him she's noticed that his work studies coincide with stolen medical equipment. 

"Yes, you're doing very well Don." she calls him by his first name and his eyes are immediately drawn to hers. She never calls any of the students by their first name. Something heavy and warm is in his stomach. 

"I'd like you to consider becoming my full time intern." 

"Do you mean working here all the time instead of switching out..." 

She nods and turns back to her paperwork, "Yes, I'd like you to learn more complicated procedures." She waves him away and he knows that the conversation is over even though they both know his answer is yes. He steps away from the office and sits heavily on the nearest bed.  
She wants him to learn more complicated procedures, she wants him to actually help people, wants him to actually get his hands dirty rather than just diagnosing and handing her things. 

He needs to tell Ray. 

He looks up at the door and it swings open and Ray is standing there. 

He needs to tell Emily? 

The door doesn't reveal anyone else, he's not surprised but what's the harm in trying. 

"I did something stupid." Ray tells him urgently. 

Don leans to look around Ray but no one seems to be running after him so at the very least the Rooks aren't out for his immediate blood.  
He eyes Ray's shirt for blood but nothing is showing. Don slides off the bed. 

"What did you do?" 

"I told her I loved her." 

"Yeah and..." he rolls his eyes, everyone on campus knows that Ray loves Suki many of them have known long before Ray and Suki were even a thing. It really doesn't seem like a big deal but Ray is freaking out, he can tell from here that his breathing is erratic. 

"I've never said it before, what if this changes things..." 

"What kind of things?" 

"Things!" Ray's eyes get wide as if he's trying to communicate with him telepathically. 

Her escape. 

"Oh shit things." 

"Mr. Finch," Nurse calls out from her office, "where do profanities belong?" 

Rolling his eyes he sighed, "In the OR." he replied much to Ray's surprise. 

"And are you in the operating room Mr. Finch?" 

"No, mam'm." 

"Yes, so if you would please take the discussion about Mr. Snyder's love life outside..." 

Don pushed his best friend out of the swinging doors and into the relative privacy of the side hall. 

"So what did she say?" 

"What did who say?" 

"Suki." 

"I don't know." 

"What do you mean you don't know?" Don looked at Ray, stared right into his reddened features and his averted eyes, "Oh my god." 

"I didn't mean to." 

"You coward." 

"What am I going to do?" 

"You're asking me?" Don raised his eyebrows at Ray, he couldn't believe that it had come to this. He had never had a girlfriend before, the only girls he'd ever been able to manage a conversation with were either dead or imprisoned. 

"Who am I supposed to ask? Fenton? Jordan? Zack?" 

Inexperienced or ostracised, Ray's pool of information wasn't very big and seemed to only be getting smaller. 

"Alright, alright, we'll figure this out man." Don started down the hall away from the infirmary. 

"What do you want?" Headmaster's voice is firm but she is not going to bend, she isn't going to break. Not this time.

"They are my friends I won't do it this time."

"Candace you know this is to help them, to help everyone, think of all the people that will get hurt if you don't."

She turns away from him, he has been able to guilt her into just about anything for years and it's just not fair, "Dad don't." The arm of the chair blurs in her vision and she tries to focus on the wood grain to keep from crying outright. Crying has never gotten her what she wanted, not since she's been here, not since it was just him and her. Back when it was the three of them though, way back in the corners of her mind, the smell of perfume and soft hands. 

She straightens in the chair and looks directly at him.

"Fine."

"Great now, "

"But I want to see my Mother."

Headmaster, her father, sags a little in his grand leather chair, and sighs, "Candace you know how hard that is."

"That's my price." 

-

Suki is thankful that when CJ finally gets back to the observatory she's not on her with questions about Ray or anything. In fact if she were to pause a moment on it she'd notice that she looked sad and a little sick.

"Need any help Suki?" she asks quietly, setting her homework down on the makeshift coffee table.

"No it's okay, I'm almost done." she looks back down at the list of components and flips over the paper to look at the blueprints she's drawn on the back.

She adds a couple feet of copper wire and a soldering gun to the list and is done. There's a fleeting moment of pride at the completion of a task but it's quickly blotted out by Ray's words echoing in her head.

"CJ, actually I have a-" she turns in her seat to look at her and CJ puts down her French workbook and is focused solely on her. And there's a softness and a gratefulness to her that reminds her of how they used to be.

"Yeah?" CJ leans forward like she's desperate for this familiar sign of their friendship.

"I have a-"

The trap door bursts open and Gabe pulls himself up into the observatory singing hail to the chief.

"Never fear your president is here." he spreads his arms open wide and breaks the fragile thing between her and CJ. He looks between the girls and his arms drop, "What? What'd I do?"

Both girls turned back to their tasks and mumbled there non informative responses.

"Feel free to get back to your girly things, I just came for my dickens." he points at 'A Tale of Two Cities' next to CJ on the couch.

She hands it to him, "I'm going to help Ray with his English essay."

Suki looks up quickly at him. She has to admit it's a pretty believable lie, but he's keeping his face pointed away from CJ to the point of tripping over the carpet and she knows that Gabe hasn't even opened the novel let alone has insights on it to help Ray.

"Really... that's nice of you."

"Yeah well you know me."

"Yes I do."

He falters a little bit before he finishes lamely half in the tunnel, "Always helping others, it's what presidents are for."

The trap door closes tightly.

"He's up to something." Suki stands from the table ripping the list in four she hands one of the quarters to CJ.

"Ray's helping him learn how to fight." CJ concedes and there's something to her voice and the sag of her body that makes her believe that she's telling her because there are enough lies between them.

"Why would he be learning to fight..." Suki sits down next to CJ and lets the ancient coach pull her in.

"I think Gabe's failing gym."

Once again Suki recognises the believable lie for what it is.

There is something between them that wasn't there before, a sort of wall and she's not sure which one of them put it up or who it's there to protect.

The room fills with an oppressive kind of silence.


	18. Rays decision

A/N: once again thanks to seahaven, there'll be a bit of a gap between this chapter and the next as i'm still working on it, but i'm pretty determined to finish this story so please bare with me. Thanks.

Movie Night 18: Ray's decision

"I have to go." Ray lifted his head off the bed and Don stopped mid pace.

"There's still a couple hours till dinner." Don observed picking up the alarm clock from his night stand. Watching the little red lines blink from one number to another.

"I have free training."

"So? You also had chem lab."

Ray pushes himself up off the bed, the rips in his body are tender but the pain is subsiding finally. He's not used to the pain thing, not physical pain anyway, and he is not at all a fan. Don runs a hand through his already messy red hair and shrugs.

"Whatever man, your GPA."

He's not sure why he doesn't just tell Don that he's teaching Forest to fight, it's Don he finds out everything sooner or later anyway. It seems so wrong to teach Forest of all people and not Donny.

"I'll be back before dinner." he tells him as he leaves.

"Cool. If you rip more stitches you're being stitched up with regular ass thread, keep it in mind." Don doesn't even look over at him, just flicks open his Latin workbook and fishes out a pencil from his drawer.

He's getting a little worried about Don, he seems so much more subdued since Emily's disappearance slash death. Perhaps he needs out of this place as much as Suki does. Actually he's sure he doesn't want anyone out of this hell hole more than Suki, why else would he bother teaching up Forest? It certainly wasn't for his own benefit.

He loved her and it wasn't that selfish thing in his gut that wanted to hold onto her no matter what, and it wasn't the heavy feeling in his skin when they touched either. It was the light thing, a kind of weightlessness that wanted what was best for her if it included him or not.

He was determined to listen to that part.

He pushed open the door to the training room. Forest and Archer were already there. They were deep in what appeared to be a meaningless conversation about Batman and Forest was following Archer along as he stretched.

Ray picked up a water bottle from the bench and threw it at the pair.

To his disappointment Ian's arm moved quickly and hit the bottle away from Gabe's head.

"What the hell Ray."

He shrugs; Ian and Gabe bring out the worst in him he's sure.

"You should be more aware of your environment. If I was a gnome you'd be dead."

"But Ian deflected it."

"A water bottle, if they used anything with stopping power your arm'd be broken."

Ian looks away from him and he knows that he begrudgingly agrees. It's a small victory in his war against Ian so he'll take it. He throws his sweater down on the bench and checks his white shirt. It is still completely white.

"Don't use that arm the rest of the session." Ray tells him and there's a deadpanned authority to his voice. It's the same exercise Coach used on him when he was getting too cocky.

Maybe it'll do Ian some good.

They go half an hour focusing mainly on Forests' blocking and evade. It's primarily in silence broken only once and a while for Ian or Ray to correct Gabe's stance. Ian is even keeping his arm tight to his chest and unused.

The door bursts open and Gabe looks like he's about to have a heart attack. A blonde with thick rimmed glasses is standing there in the open doorway, doubled over and breathing heavily. He recognizes her as a member of student council, she used to hang around with Emily, hang off her every word.

"Gabe-" she huffs and Gabe regains some of his bravado and at the very least no longer looks like he needs Nurse.

"What is it Heather? Kind of in the middle of something."

She stands up straight and the light glints off her glasses making it near impossible to see her eyes, "You should be in the middle of the budget meeting!" she picks up a bottle from the bench and throws it rather expertly at his head.

Gabe ducks and the plastic bottle hits the back wall and cracks.

"Headmaster is there and wants to know what's taking you so long!"

"Oh crap."

"I told him you must be in the cafeteria getting a snack. I've been running around everywhere looking for you!" she looks away and mumbles something that's not meant for them but they hear it anyway, "This never would have happened if Em was here." the girls shoulders sag and she turns away from the door and heads back to the meeting room.

"Sorry, gotta cut it short. A president's work is never done." and with that he grabs his sweater and runs out the door, "Heather baby-" is the last thing they hear as he shuts the door.

A dead awkward silence falls over the room.

"It's nice of you to do this for Gabe." Archer tries and he recognises it as a kind of peace offering sentence but he doesn't want it.

"I'm not doing this for Gabe. He has a good hook it's a waste not to use him."

More silence as they both stand looking at the door. Its odd how Gabe has become some strange buffer since as long as Gabe's been at Tower he's wanted to punch him so hard in the stomach that he threw up meals he hadn't even had yet.

Ian takes a deep breath and he readies himself, whatever it is Ian doesn't want to talk about he's sure he doesn't want to talk about either.

"They want you to come with us." it sounds as if the words had cut on the way out.

"Do you want me to come?"

"Of course not."

He's glad that he didn't bother to lie; perhaps they both know it would sound too fake to even bother with.

"Does Suki know that you're asking me to go?"

"No."

"Good."

"Good?"

Ray turns to Archer, "Don't let her know."

Ian's eye widen and the fact that he's turning the offer down is left unspoken between them and he's glad. he's not sure if he could say the words again. So he asks something else he doesn't want to know.

"How long?"

"Week... tops."

He had expected it to be soon and he had expected it to hurt no matter what the time frame was but god. It was like a well placed blow to his chest, he was having trouble breathing.

"My girl is too smart." is all he can say and he hates it but _my girl _breaks and he can see Ian look away.

"Sorry." Ian whispers and it's possible that he is sorry but it doesn't help any, "What are you going to do about Suki, she doesn't want to leave without you. I can tell."

"I'm going to break up with her." he says it simply like that was his plan all along, and maybe it was he can't remember. Maybe he thought they would just fail at it like he had, maybe he just assumed that they would be tracked down by Gnomes and wake up in their own beds just like he and Don had what felt like a millennia ago.

He picks up his sweater and leaves before Ian can stop floundering around long enough to say anything.

She's not really all that hungry but Suki is stone-faced and stonewalling her so there is nothing left to do in the observatory but her French homework and she isn't really feeling up to congregating anything at the moment.

"Voulez-vous aller dîner?"

Suki looks up from the math homework she wasn't really working on and shrugs, "Might as well. I'm tired of looking at this problem."

They wind through the tunnels and end up dusty and in their dorm.

"Do you think Ray loves me?" Suki asks, the words rush out of her as if against her better judgement. Her face is flushed and scared is screaming at her from every characteristic on Suki's face.

"You mean like forever?"

Suki nods but can't bring her eyes to hers. The weight of the question is crushing. even thou Suki isn't saying anything she knows that her answer determines way more than it should.

She sits down heavily on her bed and thinks about Ray. Thinks about Ray and Suki. Recalls the little things, the way he looks at her when he thinks no one else is looking, the way he threads his fingers through hers. The movement of his mouth, and eyes and hands.

_yes_

He wants to be with her so bad it hurts him, she can tell in the slightly too tight grip of fingers, in the hitch in his breathing,

_forever_

He loves her. Really, properly. Can tell in the fact that he wants her out of this place, can tell in the way he keeps it to himself, so it's easier on her. In the fact that he knows she'll be gone from this place and still talks about a future. That he will find her is something she believes with all the sentimental desperate bits of her.

"CJ?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." and so do you.

"He loves me." she tells the room as if it doesn't already know. The entire school knows that he loves her. it's been a constant for years long before Suki even looked at him twice. Maybe for most of that time it had been a more hormonal teenage thing then it is now but the soft undertone had always been there. Just like it was there in Suki now. In the way she kept flowers that had shown up at their door with a get well note in writing they both recognized as Rays, in the way she wouldn't let him feel abandoned at the movies, in the way she held his hand and moved his hair and laughed at his surprisingly innocent juvenile jokes. In the way she chose him over Gabe and Ian.

"Love you." she tells CJ in Ray's voice and it's private and easy and panicked at the end in the sound of a quick breath.

"He said it out loud?" she can't help it there's a girlish hysterical edge to her voice as she bounces off her bed.

Suki nods quickly and the wall crumbles momentarily as CJ's arms wrap around her best friend and she forgets all about what she's done what's she going to do, forgets all about the deal she's made and is for maybe the first time in her life just a girl.

The hug is digging fingers and laughter and spinning and for that minute everything is perfect.

The door burst open and Ian is standing there, red in the face from exertion panic written all over his features and the perfect girl moment is gone.

"I need to talk to you." he points at CJ and his entire body seems to be jumping but there's something in the twitch of his mouth. Self satisfaction that worries her more than everything else.

"I'll meet you guys at dinner." Suki tells them and she skips past Ian.

Ian steps fully into the room and closes the door and all the joy and levity just disappears from the room. 


End file.
